KiwiSaver First-Home Withdrawal

Withdraw up to everything in your KiwiSaver fund (except the initial $1,000 Government contribution) and put it towards your first house or apartment. 
Updated 10 October 2019
Note: The KiwiSaver First Home Savings Withdrawal and KiwiSaver HomeStart Grant are two completely different things, but you may be eligible for both. This guide is for the Savings Withdrawal - refer to our KiwiSaver HomeStart Grant guide for further details. 

Being a member of KiwiSaver can provide a fast-track to homeownership for qualifying New Zealanders. This guide walks you through what you need to know, the limitations of withdrawing your KiwiSaver money, and tips to make your KiwiSaver balance go as far as it can when it comes to buying your first home.

This guide covers:

Your Money - what you’re entitled to and how you can get it

If you've contributed on a regular basis to KiwiSaver for at least three years, you are very likely to be eligible to withdraw your KiwiSaver balance and use it for financing your first home. 

Making Sense of the Eligibility
There are many requirements to understand for a successful KiwiSaver withdrawal, which we outline below.  
  • You have been a member of KiwiSaver or a complying superannuation fund for at least three years
  • You will be buying a home or a piece of land for the first time
  • If you have previously owned a home, you no longer have any interest or share in that home
  • You are buying a home in New Zealand
  • You plan to live in the home you’re buying, or build a home to live in on the land you’re buying
  • You are buying one of the following types of property and land arrangements:
    • fee simple
    • stratum estate (freehold and leasehold)
    • cross-lease (freehold and leasehold)
    • leasehold
    • Maori land
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How much of my KiwiSaver fund can I withdraw?

If you've met all of the criteria above, you can withdraw all of your own contributions, employer contributions, and Government member tax credit contributions, plus all investment returns.

You are unable to withdraw:
  • The $1,000 Government kick start payment - this will be left in your fund and will continue to be invested. 
  • Any money transferred from an Australian superannuation scheme
  • Member tax credits received if you lived offshore

10 Must Know Facts: KiwiSaver HomeStart Grant

​Allow enough time (i.e. 6+ weeks) between signing your contract the property (AKA 'going unconditional') and the settlement date

You're relying on the KiwiSaver provider's administration team to arrange your house financing effectively - the provider may say '10 working days' as a guideline to receive your money but holdups so happen. Stress levels will be raised if you're chasing up your provider as settlement date approaches.

Get yourself organised, make contact with your KiwiSaver provider and get all the documents you need and forms filled out while you await settlement. 
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Don't have your KiwiSaver money on settlement date? You won't be able to use it

When settlement date occurs, you are now a homeowner and therefore your KiwiSaver money cannot be paid out. To avoid all of the hassle and potential of being short to cover your home purchase, plan in advance. If the vendor wants to settle in 2 weeks, it's unlikely you'll be able to access your KiwiSaver money so you will need alternative financing. 

Many first homeowners calculate what they can afford as a home deposit WITHOUT relying on their KiwiSaver funds

This is the safest option to avoid disappointment. If you're relying on your KiwiSaver funds just to meet the lending criteria, this doesn't leave you a lot of room if the price of the home you want to buy costs more than you anticipated.

For example, if you are looking at a $500,000 home and require a 10% deposit to get a mortgage, you'll need $50,000. Rather than relying on your KiwiSaver balances, you can prioritise putting together the $50,000 and let the KiwiSaver funds be an added bonus. The more deposit you can put together, the chances you'll be able to secure a lower interest rate as you are a lower risk to the lender. Don't over-extend your finances in the case of a home that you will be struggling to pay for when you own it. 

Once you settle and take possession of your home, don't turn it into a rental property (but renting a room or two while you live in it is fine)

If you've owned the property for less than six months and rent the entire place out, you may find yourself in breach of KiwiSaver first-home withdrawal terms and conditions. The Government and lenders make sure you're abiding by what you signed up to, as reported in this Radio NZ story, with checks such as:
  • Phone calls from your lender to ask about the living situation, whereby it is reasonable to expect the lender is looking for consistent information between phone calls. Any irregularity may be investigated as renting the entire property to tenants can often be a breach of a homeowners' mortgage agreement.  
  • If you do rent your home, you'll have to register the tenants' bond with the ​Department of Housing, who administered the grant initially. This may cause a red flag. 
  • The IRD will be able to determine income from renting a property, which needs to be explained if it is for the entire home.  

Renting out a room or two is fine, but you need to ensure the property remains your primary residence. 
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Planning to buy a home in 1 or 2 years? You can increase your voluntary contributions to save more

If buying a home is on the horizon, you can give yourself a boost by upping your voluntary contributions - this will be especially useful if you need some help with achieving your saving goals. 

Move your KiwiSaver money into a conservative fund so that you have far less risk of a dip in savings if the markets drop

If you are looking to buy a home and want to ensure that your KiwiSaver fund balance doesn't fall, a conservative fund which invests in bank deposits and bonds is less risky than a growth fund that is exposed to overseas share markets. The only downside is that it may mean a lower return in the short term while you divert salary into savings. 

You can combine your KiwiSaver withdraw funds with a co-purchaser of the property

If you are co-purchasing a property with your partner or friends, every person with a share in the property is eligible to withdraw their KiwiSaver fund. Best of all, you can withdraw as little or as much as you want as different people will have different KiwiSaver fund balances. 
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You CAN access your KiwiSaver funds BEFORE settlement date for a real estate agent deposit

This recent change means you can put your KiwiSaver savings towards the deposit while your sale and purchase agreement is still conditional. Make sure everyone is on the same page when you proceed; after talking to your KiwiSaver scheme, you will need to work with your solicitor to complete and submit your KiwiSaver first home withdrawal application, along with the required documents, at least 15 business days before your deposit is due.

Previous homeowners CAN still withdraw their KiwiSaver funds if they don't currently own property

As a previous homeowner, you may still be eligible to withdraw your KiwiSaver fund - talk to your KiwiSaver provider about your situation well in advance of looking at properties so you have more of an idea of your position and budget.

Unlike the KiwiSaver HomeStart grant, your KiwiSaver first home withdrawal application has nothing to do with Housing New Zealand, so you will need to manage the process separately

The process is entirely different for both applications, so you'll need to plan carefully and schedule in followups to ensure you get the money you're entitled to. Be prepared to chase your KiwiSaver provider to keep in line with the 10 working day payment timeline.

MoneyHub argues that getting your fund paid out should take a maximum of 2-3 working days but until things improve you're responsible for keeping everything on track. 
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KiwiSaver First-Home Withdrawal Application Process

Make the application hassle-free by getting organised and gathering documents well in advance as you take steps to purchase a home. To apply for the HomeStart grant, follow these two steps:

Step 1: Gather the following supporting documents:
  • Certified ID and proof of address
  • A bank deposit slip for your solicitor’s trust account.
  • A copy of the sale and purchase agreement for the property you’re buying. And either a letter of undertaking - conditional agreement, to be completed by your solicitor if you’re using your KiwiSaver savings as a deposit) or a letter of undertaking – unconditional agreement, to be completed by your solicitor if you’re using your KiwiSaver savings to pay part of the purchase price at settlement.

Step 2: Apply and submit your documents:
  • Complete the KiwiSaver withdrawal form from your provider
  • The form usually contains an original statutory declaration, and this must be witnessed by any person who is authorised to take statutory declarations (JP, lawyer etc). 
  • Send the documents in Step 1 with the application form to your provider, and call or email them to make sure they have received it and are processing it within 3 working days.