Saving for your first home
While KiwiSaver is mainly about saving for your retirement, there are 2 benefits for KiwiSaver members who are saving for their first home.
Benefits for first home buyers
There are 2 benefits for KiwiSaver members who are about to buy their first home:
- If you've been a KiwiSaver member for at least 3 years, you may be able to withdraw some of your savings to put towards buying your first home. You can withdraw your contributions and your employer contributions, but not the government contributions.
- You may also be eligible for a one-off payment from the Government to help you. You can get $1,000 for each year you've been contributing to KiwiSaver, up to a maximum of $5,000 for each member. Income and house price caps apply. Find out more by visiting the Housing New Zealand website.
If you've owned a home before
If you've owned a home before, you may still be eligible for these benefits if you're in the same financial situation as a first home buyer. To find out more, visit the Housing New Zealand website or call them on 0800 801 601.
After you've bought your home
Once you've made a withdrawal from your KiwiSaver account to buy your first home, you'll remain a KiwiSaver member. You can:
- keep making contributions as usual, or
- take a contributions holiday if you need a break from contributing to KiwiSaver to focus on repaying your mortgage.
You'll be able to withdraw the rest of your KiwiSaver money when you qualify for NZ Super (currently 65).
