Your KiwiSaver: eligibility and timing
The bottom line
Get your provider's eligibility letter before you make an offer, and allow up to three weeks for the money.
If you have been in KiwiSaver for three years and have not owned property before, you can usually withdraw most of your balance for a first home. The money is paid to our trust account, not to you, and only once there is a signed agreement.
The catch is timing. Providers usually take 10 to 15 working days to pay out, sometimes less, and the forms need a wet signature witnessed by us. For an auction, that means the withdrawal has to be arranged before auction day.
Read this
Using your KiwiSaver, without losing it in the contract
Do this
Map your withdrawal on the KiwiSaver road map
Check yourself
How long must you have been a KiwiSaver member to withdraw for a first home?
Three years.
Where is the withdrawal paid?
To your lawyer's trust account.
Can you e-sign the withdrawal form?
Usually not. Most providers need a wet signature witnessed by your lawyer.
Talk it through
Want a lawyer to check your situation?
A free 15-minute call with a property lawyer who only works with first home buyers.