KiwiSaver Questions, Answered

KiwiSaver is a voluntary, work-based savings scheme to help New Zealanders save for retirement. You, your employer and the government can all contribute, and the money is invested in a fund run by the provider you choose.

You can usually only take the money out at 65, to buy your first home, or in a few special situations. For most employees it’s worth it: the employer and government contributions are effectively free money you’d miss out on otherwise. Whether it’s working as hard as it could depends on which fund and provider you’re in.

You can join if you’re a New Zealand citizen or entitled to live here indefinitely, normally live in New Zealand, and are under 65. Children can join too; a parent or guardian signs them up.

If you start a new job and aren’t already a member, you’re usually enrolled automatically. Otherwise, join through the provider you choose, or through your employer. Most people on temporary work visas can’t join.

No, KiwiSaver isn’t compulsory. If you were enrolled automatically through a new job, you can opt out between day 14 and day 56 (weeks 2 to 8) of starting that job.

If you joined yourself, or missed the opt-out window, you can’t close your account. You can stop contributing for a while with a savings suspension.

All KiwiSaver schemes and funds are portfolio investment entities (PIEs). Your returns are taxed at your prescribed investor rate (PIR) of 10.5%, 17.5% or 28%, based on your income over the past two years.

If you haven’t given your provider a PIR, you’re taxed at 28%, which may be too high. If yours is too low, you may have tax to pay at year-end. Check your rate with Inland Revenue’s PIR tool and tell your provider.

Your employer’s contributions are also taxed (employer superannuation contribution tax, or ESCT) before they reach your account.

If you’re employed, the default rate is 3.5% of your pay before tax (it rose from 3% on 1 April 2026, and rises to 4% on 1 April 2028). You can choose 3.5%, 4%, 6%, 8% or 10%.

To change your rate, give your employer a KiwiSaver deduction form (KS2). You can change it once every three months, or sooner if your employer agrees. If money is tight, you can apply to Inland Revenue for a temporary rate reduction to 3% for 3 to 12 months.

The right rate depends on your goals and budget. A higher rate can make a big difference over decades; our KiwiSaver Investment Calculator shows how much.

Your employer must contribute at least 3.5% of your before-tax pay if you’re contributing (4% from 1 April 2028). Since 1 April 2026 this also applies to employees aged 16 and 17.

Employer contributions are taxed (ESCT) before they reach your account. If you’re on a total remuneration package, your employer’s contribution may come out of your agreed pay, so check your contract. Employers can stop contributing once you reach 65, depending on your employment agreement.

The government adds 25 cents for every dollar you contribute each year (1 July to 30 June), up to $260.72. To get the maximum, you need to contribute $1,042.86 in that year, which is about $20 a week.

You qualify if you’re 16 to 64, mainly live in New Zealand, and earn $180,000 or less in taxable income. It’s paid automatically after 30 June. If you’re self-employed or not working, make voluntary contributions to qualify.

Yes. You can pay extra straight to your provider at any time, as a one-off lump sum or regular payments. It’s a common way to make sure you get the full government contribution before 30 June each year.

Yes. After 12 months of membership you can take a savings suspension of 3 months to 1 year, with no reason needed. You can renew it as often as you like. If you’ve been a member for less than 12 months, you can only apply if you’re in financial hardship.

Apply through Inland Revenue (myIR). While suspended, your employer usually stops contributing too, and you may miss the government contribution unless you make voluntary payments.

Funds are mainly set apart by how much they hold in growth assets (shares and property) versus income assets (cash and bonds):

• Cash or defensive: mostly cash and short-term deposits. Very stable, but lowest long-term returns.
• Conservative: mostly bonds and cash, some shares. Smaller ups and downs.
• Balanced: roughly half growth and half income assets.
• Growth: mostly shares and property. Bigger swings, higher expected long-term returns.
• Aggressive or high growth: almost all shares. The biggest swings, for people with a long time frame.

Some providers also offer socially responsible fund options. Our Fund Type Selector gives a general indication of which type may suit you.

It depends mainly on when you’ll need the money and how you’d cope with your balance falling in a downturn. Someone in their 30s saving for retirement can usually ride out ups and downs; someone buying a house next year usually can’t.

The wrong fund can matter a lot. Over 20 to 30 years, the difference between a conservative and a growth fund can add up to tens of thousands of dollars. Many people are still in the fund they were put in by default and have never checked.

If your balance has gone down, that’s usually short-term market movement. Before switching to a safer fund in a downturn, get advice, as switching can lock in a loss.

There’s no single best provider. The right one depends on the type of fund you need, then on its long-term returns after fees, its fees, and the service you get. Always compare like with like: a growth fund against other growth funds, over five years or more.

Independent sources include Morningstar’s quarterly KiwiSaver survey and the Sorted Smart Investor tool. Past returns don’t guarantee future returns, so look at long-term track record rather than last year’s winner.

In a review, we compare your current fund against the whole market using Morningstar’s quarterly KiwiSaver report and other data, and explain the trade-offs in plain language. We can arrange a switch to Generate, Booster, Milford or ANZ, and you’re always free to take our advice into account and go elsewhere.

To change funds with the same provider, use your provider’s app or website; it usually takes a few days. To change provider, sign up with the new provider and they’ll arrange the transfer from your old one. You can only belong to one KiwiSaver scheme at a time, but some platforms, such as InvestNow, Sharesies and AMP, let you invest across several underlying funds within one scheme. These can come with higher fees and without the benefits of a dedicated provider, so it’s worth checking with us what’s right for you.

Your contributions, employer contributions and government contributions all move with you. Most providers don’t charge to leave, but check before you switch.

KiwiSaver is locked in until you turn 65. You can take money out earlier only to:

• buy your first home
• deal with significant financial hardship
• cover a serious illness or a life-shortening condition
• move overseas permanently (with conditions; if you move to Australia, your savings can only be transferred to an approved Australian super scheme)

Your estate can also withdraw it after you have passed away. To withdraw, apply to your KiwiSaver provider using their form.

You may qualify if you can’t meet minimum living costs, are facing a mortgagee sale of your home, need to modify your home for special needs, or have medical, palliative care or funeral costs for a dependant.

Apply to your provider (or to Inland Revenue in your first two months of membership), with evidence such as bank statements, bills and a budget. Every hardship application must be certified by a Justice of the Peace (JP) or a lawyer. If approved, you can withdraw some or all of your own and your employer’s contributions. Providers usually only release what you need to get through the hardship.

If you’re struggling, a free financial mentor (MoneyTalks, 0800 345 123) can help you prepare the application. A savings suspension may also help.

The bar for hardship can be high, and each application is assessed on its own evidence. Depending on your circumstances and overall financial picture, your provider may also ask for more on a case-by-case basis, such as confirmation from Work and Income, a budget from a financial mentor, or evidence you’ve explored other options like a personal loan. If you’re in a tough spot, it’s worth applying. Talking to an adviser first helps you put together a strong application and get a realistic view of your options.

It depends on the type of withdrawal and how complete your application is:

• At 65: with all paperwork in order, it’s usually approved within 2 business days and paid within 5. It’s normally a simple process, whether you take some or all of it.
• Financial hardship: a clear, complete application that meets the criteria can be approved within about 2 days and paid within a further 3 to 5 business days. Missing evidence is very common, and providers often have to come back to the applicant for extra documents or information. Depending on how long that back-and-forth takes, the process can stretch past a month; we’ve seen some take longer than three months when the applicant was slow to provide what the provider asked for.
• First home: give your provider at least 10 business days between sending the forms and the date the money is needed.

Whatever the type, send everything the provider asks for up front. Most delays come from missing documents or slow replies.

Usually not, but it can be possible through a significant financial hardship withdrawal. For example, if you need a car to get to work and earn a living, or debt is making it impossible to meet basic living costs and there’s a clear path to reducing or paying it off.

Your provider assesses each application on its merits and the evidence you provide. They want to see that you’re using your KiwiSaver as a last resort, not to buy a new car you don’t really need or to pay off debt you could easily have avoided. You can’t borrow against your KiwiSaver.

Yes, if you’ve been a KiwiSaver member for at least three years and the home will be where you live. You can withdraw everything except $1,000, including your contributions, your employer’s, the government’s and the returns. The money goes to your lawyer for the deposit or settlement.

You can also use it to buy land to build your home on. If you’ve owned a home before, you may still qualify under the ‘second chance’ option if Kāinga Ora confirms your finances are similar to a first-home buyer’s. This option is only for people who have never made a KiwiSaver first home withdrawal. If you’ve withdrawn for a home before, you won’t qualify again, even if you no longer own a property and are now in a first-home buyer’s financial position. The First Home Grant closed in May 2024.

Timing matters. Providers need at least 10 business days to process a first home withdrawal and pay it to your lawyer. You may need the money before settlement: a vendor deposit (often 10% of the price, though it’s negotiable) is usually due when the agreement goes unconditional, which can be 2 to 8 weeks before settlement. At an auction, you’re unconditional on the day. Work with your KiwiSaver adviser, mortgage broker, bank and lawyer so the money is ready when it’s needed.

See our first home page for more on fund strategy.

At 65 you can withdraw all of your KiwiSaver, some of it, or leave it invested. You don’t have to take it out. Many people leave most of it invested and draw on it gradually, which can help it last longer.

You can keep contributing after 65, but the government contribution stops and your employer may stop contributing, depending on your employment agreement. Your fund choice matters as much at 65 as at 35, because your savings may need to last 20 years or more. See our retirement page for more.

• Australia: you can’t withdraw it as cash because you’ve moved there. You can transfer your full balance, including government contributions, to an approved Australian complying super scheme, within Australian transfer limits.
• Other countries: you can withdraw your savings one year after permanently emigrating, or transfer them to an approved overseas super scheme. Government contributions are repaid to Inland Revenue.

You’ll need evidence such as a statutory declaration and proof you’ve left New Zealand.

When a KiwiSaver member dies, their savings become part of their estate and are paid out under their will (or under the law if there’s no will). They don’t automatically go to a partner. The executor contacts the provider to claim the money, so make sure someone knows who your provider is. Having an up-to-date will matters.

If you’re dealing with the KiwiSaver of someone who has died, start by contacting their provider. They’ll explain the forms and documents needed, such as a copy of the death certificate.

Log in to your provider’s app or website, or check your annual statement. If you don’t know who your provider is, log in to myIR on the Inland Revenue website, where your KiwiSaver details are shown, or call Inland Revenue. Your KiwiSaver member number is on your provider’s statements and account.

If it’s easier, and you’re open to switching to a strong provider, we can do the legwork. We can advise you and move you to Booster, Generate, Milford or ANZ without you needing to know anything about your current KiwiSaver, then help you get set up on the new provider’s app and online portal. There’s no need to log in to myIR or work out who your current provider is.

The average balance across all members was $41,286 at 31 December 2025. Averages by age, from MJW’s KiwiSaver Demographic Study for the Retirement Commission:

Averages are pulled up by a smaller number of large balances, so many people sit below them. What matters more is whether you’re on track for the retirement you want.

You can estimate your own balance at 65 with our KiwiSaver Investment Calculator. Every written advice document we send after a review also includes retirement projections, and any others you ask for.

If you’re on the default rate, the increases happen automatically through your pay.

You don’t have to use an adviser, but many people are in the wrong fund, on a rate that doesn’t suit them, or paying more in fees than they need to. A review can catch that early, when small changes have the biggest effect.

Our advice is always free to you. We don’t charge a fee, and getting advice through us costs you no more than joining a provider directly. If you join or switch to one of the providers we work with, that provider pays us out of the fees it already charges: an ongoing (trail) commission, and sometimes an upfront commission.

When we review your KiwiSaver, we compare your fund against the whole market using Morningstar’s quarterly KiwiSaver report and other data. We can only arrange a switch to Generate, Booster, Milford or ANZ, and you’re always free to take our advice and go elsewhere.

Because we’re paid by commission, we follow an advice process that bases every recommendation on your own goals and circumstances. We complete annual training on managing conflicts of interest, and our compliance programme is independently audited each year. Full details are in our disclosure statement.

Already with Generate, Booster, Milford or ANZ? These providers let members link to an adviser at no cost, even if you joined directly. We can be added as your adviser at any time, so you get ongoing advice for as long as you keep us linked. You can remove us whenever you like, and changing provider also ends the link.

We’re based in Christchurch and meet clients in person there. We also advise people anywhere in New Zealand by phone or video call, including evenings and, when needed, weekends.