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 contributing to KiwiSaver for at least 3 years, you may be able to withdraw some of your savings to help pay for a deposit on 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 with your deposit . 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).
