KiwiSaver significant financial hardship withdrawal

If you’re experiencing significant financial hardship (for example, if you can’t meet essential living costs), you can apply for an early withdrawal of your KiwiSaver savings.

Who is eligible?

You may be eligible to withdraw some of your KiwiSaver savings early if you can provide evidence that you’re suffering significant financial hardship, and have exhausted all other reasonable alternative sources of funds.

For example, if you’re unable to pay for:

minimum living expenses such as power, water and food bills
mortgage, rental or board payments
modifications needed on your home to meet special needs, if you or a dependent family member is disabled
necessary medical treatment for you or a dependent family member
funeral costs if a dependent family member dies.

How much you can withdraw

The amount you can withdraw depends on your situation and is decided by The New Zealand Guardian Trust Company Limited (our independent Scheme Supervisor).

The purpose of the withdrawal is to help you cover any shortfall for your minimum living expenses for three months, plus an amount to pay any overdue bills or arrears. If you’re still experiencing significant financial hardship at the end of that period, you can reapply.

Before you apply

KiwiSaver is designed to help you save for your retirement, so before applying for a hardship withdrawal, you need to:

Talk to your bank about how they may be able to assist, for example by restructuring loans or mortgages
Talk to Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) who may be able to offer financial support.

As part of your application, you’ll need to provide evidence that you’ve talked to both your bank and WINZ. They should be able to give you a letter or email to that effect.

You might also like to use free budgeting services in your area, such as the Citizen’s Advice Bureau.

Documentation you need to supply

You’ll need to be able to provide information about you and any household members who contribute financially to the day-to-day running of your home.

See page 7 of the application form for a checklist of the required documentation.

How to apply

Download and complete a KiwiSaver Significant Financial Hardship Withdrawal application form.

KiwiSaver Significant Financial Hardship Withdrawal application form (PDF 663KB)

Submit your application – you can post or email your completed application form, or take it in to any ANZ branch. Our postal and email addresses are on page 1 of the application form.

Make sure you provide all the required information to avoid delays in the processing of your application.

Help completing the form

If you need help completing the application form, call us on 0800 736 034 or email service@anzinvestments.co.nz

You can also get help to complete the household income and expenditure sections of the application form from the Citizen’s Advice Bureau.

Assessing your application

We’ll review your application to make sure it’s complete.

If anything is missing we’ll contact you to request this, which could cause delays in processing your application.

Once complete, your application is sent to The New Zealand Guardian Trust Company Limited (our independent Scheme Supervisor) who will make the final decision.

We’ll then advise the outcome of your application by text, email or letter.

If you give us all the information we need and your application is approved, we aim to pay your withdrawal and show it in your KiwiSaver account in ANZ Internet Banking and goMoney within 20 business days.

Applying for additional expenses

If you have additional information which may change your financial situation (e.g. bills or expenses that you didn’t provide previously), you can apply to have your application reassessed.

If your application is declined

If you can provide new information, or if your financial situation changes (e.g. job loss), we can reassess your application.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I need to provide information about my partner’s income, assets and expenses?

Applications are assessed on the basis of your total household income, assets and expenses. That’s why we need information about both you and your partner’s financial situation.

What is a Statutory Declaration and how do I provide one?

The application form includes a Statutory Declaration which you’ll need to complete, sign and have witnessed by an authorised person. This is a declaration that your application is complete, true and correct.

Tip: Please be careful to complete all sections of the declaration, including Occupation (even if you’re retired or unemployed). If all sections aren’t complete you’ll need to get a new Statutory Declaration witnessed, which could cause delays to the process.

It can be witnessed by the following people:

Justice of the Peace
Notary Public
Person enrolled as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court
Registrar or Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court, High Court, a District Court or Court of Appeal
Any other person authorised by law to take statutory declarations (e.g. if you are overseas)

Find a Justice of the Peace near you.

I’ve recently separated from my partner, do I still need to include their information on the application form?

If you’ve recently separated from your partner, you don’t need to include their information in your application. However you’ll need to provide evidence to support this; for example relevant court orders confirming your legal separation. If it’s an informal separation, you’ll need to provide a letter confirming you are responsible for your household finances.

Why can’t I withdraw all my savings?

You can’t withdraw any of the Government contributions. You can only apply to withdraw your own contributions and any contributions from your employer.

Why is the process so difficult to apply for an early withdrawal? It’s my money after all.

We understand that the process can seem complex and time-consuming. KiwiSaver is designed to help New Zealanders save for their retirement, so your savings are generally locked in until you reach age 65. That’s why your savings can only be withdrawn if the supervisor is satisfied that you’re suffering or likely to suffer from significant financial hardship, and the amount withdrawn is limited to that required to alleviate the particular hardship.