Frequently asked questions - Investments & advice

Any person under the New Zealand Superannuation qualification age (currently 65) who is entitled to permanently reside in New Zealand and is living in New Zealand.*

You don't need to be a current ANZ customer to join the ANZ KiwiSaver Scheme (which is managed by ING (NZ) Limited and distributed through ANZ).

No. KiwiSaver is a voluntary savings initiative.

However, apart from certain exceptions, if you are aged between 18 and 65 and start a new job, your new employer will automatically enrol you in a KiwiSaver scheme. You then have up to eight weeks to decide if you want to stay in the scheme or "opt-out".

If you are not automatically enrolled (as detailed above) and are eligible for KiwiSaver, you can choose to "opt-in" to KiwiSaver, or not. It's up to you.

If you don't choose your own KiwiSaver scheme and your employer has a preferred scheme, you will be automatically allocated to that scheme. If your employer doesn't have a preferred scheme, Inland Revenue will allocate you to one of six default schemes.

No. If you opt in to KiwiSaver you can join any registered KiwiSaver scheme. If you don't choose your own you will be automatically enrolled in your employer’s preferred scheme.

If your employer doesn't offer a preferred scheme, and you don’t choose your own, Inland Revenue will automatically allocate you to one of six default schemes.

If you are under 18 and start a new job you will not be automatically enrolled, although you can join if you choose to.

If you are under 18 and not working you can also enrol in KiwiSaver.

You can change KiwiSaver schemes at any time, but you can only be a member of one KiwiSaver scheme at a time.

You can elect to contribute an amount equal to either 2%, 4% or 8% of your salary or wages before tax.

You can also make lump-sum contributions at any time.

Generally your contributions will be automatically deducted from your salary or wages by your employer.

You can also make regular contributions via direct debit.

If you are self-employed you can join KiwiSaver. You can make lump sum contributions at any time or make regular payments by direct debit.

If your business is a separate entity to yourself and you pay yourself a salary, you may be able to take advantage of the tax-free employer contributions.

In most cases you won't have access to your savings until you reach the age of eligibility for New Zealand Superannuation (currently 65) or until you have been a member of a KiwiSaver scheme for five years, whichever is the later.

In certain circumstances (such as serious illness or significant financial hardship) you may be able to withdraw your savings before you reach the New Zealand Superannuation qualification age (currently 65). See the question "What if my circumstances change?" below.

Generally after three years have passed since Inland Revenue received the first KiwiSaver contribution in respect of you, you may also be able to withdraw some of your savings to use as a deposit on your first home. See the Investment Statement for more details on accessing your benefit.

In certain circumstances you may be able to withdraw your KiwiSaver savings before you reach the age of eligibility for New Zealand Superannuation (currently 65). For example:

• If you suffer, or are likely to suffer, significant financial hardship
• If you suffer a serious illness
• If you emigrate permanently.

See the investment statement for more details on accessing your benefit.

Your KiwiSaver scheme will automatically follow you from one job to the next. That means you only need one KiwiSaver account over your entire working life.

Yes. After 12 months in a KiwiSaver scheme, you can apply to take a "contributions holiday". This means you can generally stop making contributions for a period of between three months and five years. You can apply to renew your contributions holiday at any time.

If you are suffering serious financial hardship, you can apply for a short contributions holiday of three months (or more if Inland Revenue agrees) at any time after you've made your first contribution.*

If you've been a KiwiSaver member for three years or more, for the purposes of purchasing your first home, you may be able to:

• apply for a Government "first home deposit subsidy", and
• apply to make a one-off withdrawal from your KiwiSaver account.

If you're buying your first home, the Government may provide a "first home deposit subsidy" of up to $1,000 for each year you've been saving through a KiwiSaver scheme.

The maximum subsidy is $5,000. However, if your partner is also saving through a KiwiSaver scheme, you can combine your subsidies.

You can apply for this subsidy after you've been saving through KiwiSaver for three years or more. Criteria, including household income caps and house price caps, apply and not all members will qualify. For more information visit the Housing New Zealand website www.hnzc.govt.nz.

Any deposit subsidy will be payable by the Government and not the KiwiSaver scheme.

Yes. Your obligations are outlined below.

As an employer you must:

• provide all new employees* with a KiwiSaver information pack (supplied by Inland Revenue) and an Investment Statement for your preferred provider scheme (if you have one) within seven days of starting work
• act on any opt-in request, by providing information packs (and Investment Statements if appropriate) to employees within seven days of them giving you a KiwiSaver deduction notice
• send all member details to Inland Revenue
• deduct KiwiSaver contributions from each member's pay and forward these to Inland Revenue once a month via PAYE
• forward any opt-out requests to Inland Revenue, and refund any contributions deducted but not yet forwarded to Inland Revenue to any employee who opts out
• act on any contributions holiday notices.

Employers are required to match employee contributions to a KiwiSaver scheme at a minimum of 2% of their gross salary or wages.**

No. KiwiSaver is a voluntary savings initiative. However, once employees have joined they will generally remain KiwiSaver members until they reach the age of eligibility for New Zealand Superannuation (currently 65) or have been a member of a KiwiSaver scheme for five years, whichever is later.

Only people under the New Zealand superannuation qualification age (currently 65) who are currently living in New Zealand and entitled to permanently reside in New Zealand can join a KiwiSaver scheme. Employees on temporary work visas cannot join.

Part-time workers can join a KiwiSaver scheme; however, staff on contracts of 28 days or less do not have to be automatically enrolled in KiwiSaver. Employers are not required to enrol casual employees automatically.

Workers aged under 18 are not automatically enrolled into a KiwiSaver scheme. They can join at any time by "opting in"; however, they will not be eligible to receive member tax credits until they turn 18.

If you're self-employed you can join a KiwiSaver scheme. If your business is a separate entity to yourself and you pay yourself a salary you may be able to take advantage of the tax-free employer contributions.

You must enrol all new staff members aged 18 to 65 who are not already KiwiSaver members (unless you are an exempt employer), subject to exceptions detailed under "What about part-time and temporary workers" above. They then have up to eight weeks to decide if they want to remain a KiwiSaver member or "opt out".

Because KiwiSaver accounts automatically follow employees from one job to the next, new staff may already have a KiwiSaver account when they join your organisation. In that case, you only need to deduct contributions from their salary or wages and forward them to Inland Revenue.

Existing employees can opt in to a KiwiSaver scheme at any time by giving you a deduction notice - or enrolling directly in a KiwiSaver scheme.

• Sign the Preferred Provider Agreement and return it to ANZ Managed Funds, PO Box 7149, Wellesley Street, Auckland 1141.
• ING will instruct Inland Revenue that the ANZ KiwiSaver Scheme (which is offered and managed by ING (NZ) Limited and distributed through ANZ) is your preferred provider.
• ANZ KiwiSaver Scheme Preferred Provider Agreement (PDF 164kB)

You'll be sent ANZ KiwiSaver Scheme start-up packs (which include the ANZ KiwiSaver Scheme Investment Statement) for you to distribute to your staff.

No. Employees don't need to be ANZ customers to join the ANZ KiwiSaver Scheme.

If you don't offer a preferred provider KiwiSaver scheme, employees simply choose their own scheme. If an employee does not choose their own scheme, the Inland Revenue will allocate that employee to a default scheme.

Subject to the KiwiSaver Act 2006 and the KiwiSaver Regulations 2006, employers are required to make matching employee contributions to KiwiSaver schemes in respect of their employees.

In most cases, the compulsory employer contribution is an amount equal to 2% of an employee's gross salary or wages.**

Over and above the level of any compulsory employer contributions required by Government (capped at 2%) you can contribute as much or as little as you like, and set your own rules and conditions around those additional contributions you make.

Note that employer contributions above the lesser of the employee's contributions or 2% of the employee's gross salary or wages will be subject to employer's superannuation contribution tax (ESCT).

As an employer you are responsible for passing on all employee contributions to Inland Revenue as part of your monthly PAYE process.

You'll be required to keep KiwiSaver records in the same way you keep PAYE records. This includes which of your employees are KiwiSaver members, their contribution rates, and any notification of contributions holidays or opt-outs.

No. Neither you nor any of your staff are expected to provide financial advice. The Inland Revenue will provide you with KiwiSaver information packs to give to your employees. These packs explain how KiwiSaver works, and tell employees how they can receive more information.

If you are only passing on information about KiwiSaver to your employees, or choosing a preferred provider KiwiSaver scheme for your employees, you will not be liable as an investment adviser or promoter under the Investment Advisers and Securities legislation.

• KiwiSaver information on the Inland Revenue website