Trebling of ANZ KiwiSaver first home withdrawals

Monday, 23 February 2015, 11:00 am
Press Release: ANZ Bank

Media Release

For Release: 23 February 2015

Trebling of ANZ KiwiSaver first home withdrawals

KiwiSaver is fast becoming an important part of the home buying mix with a trebling in the number of ANZ KiwiSaver members making a first home withdrawal in the past two years.

ANZ Wealth managing director John Body said 3,890 customers made a first home withdrawal from their ANZ KiwiSaver accounts last year – up from 1,248 withdrawals in 2012.

“The overall number of ANZ KiwiSaver members increased during that time but, even so, there has been a big increase in the number of people making a first home withdrawal,” said Mr Body.

“And, it is clear that many more people are actively planning to do this over the next year, based on the findings from a recent survey of KiwiSaver members.”

ANZ surveyed 850 KiwiSaver members who intend to purchase their first home in the next decade. The survey found that 89% of them planned to make a first home withdrawal from their KiwiSaver fund, with close to 60% of them intending to do so within the next five years.

Mr Body said the survey showed that most New Zealanders included the purchase of a family home as part of their overall retirement planning.

“The survey found that 82% of people believe they need to own their own home to set themselves up for a comfortable retirement,” said Mr Body.

The Government’s KiwiSaver rules enable people to withdraw their KiwiSaver savings (excluding the Government’s contributions and savings transferred from an Australian super fund), to help fund the deposit on their first home. People need to have been a member of KiwiSaver for three years before they can make the withdrawal. From April, members will also be able to withdraw the Government’s annual contributions.

The ANZ survey found that while more New Zealanders understood how KiwiSaver could help them buy a home, more of them were also recognising the importance of KiwiSaver to their long term retirement plans.

“According to the survey, 81% of people intend to contribute to KiwiSaver at the same rate - or even higher - after they make their first home withdrawal.

“This stated intention to resume contributions at a similar or higher rate is at odds with past experience – our records show that 50% of people actually decreased their KiwiSaver contributions after making a first home withdrawal.

“This is a concern because a first home withdrawal can make a big dent to the total amount of money you have when you retire.

“It makes sense to resume contributions as soon as possible and consider increasing your contribution rate to ensure you catch up and achieve your retirement savings goal.

“This will ensure that saving for a comfortable retirement and owning your own home work hand in hand.”

© Scoop Media

ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited

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