First home buyers

KiwiSaver has two benefits to help first home buyers (and second-chance home buyers), both of which become available to apply for after three years of saving with KiwiSaver.

• Contributions withdrawal to purchase a first home
• First home deposit subsidy
• Second-chance home buyers

Contributions withdrawal to purchase a first home

After you have been saving for three years or more with KiwiSaver you can apply to withdraw all of your own contributions and any employer contributions to purchase a first home. The withdrawal excludes any Government contributions. The main requirements that must be met for this first home buyer's withdrawal are:

• You have been saving for three years or more with KiwiSaver. This is measured from the date Inland Revenue received your first contribution or if you have never made a contribution via Inland Revenue, you must have been a KiwiSaver member for three years or more.
• The land will be your main home
• You must never have owned property previously (there are some detailed rules around this)
• You have never made a withdrawal from a KiwiSaver scheme for purchasing a home before.

To apply for this benefit, you need to complete a First or Second-Chance Home Withdrawal Application Form, which is available by contacting us on 0800 ASB RETIRE (0800 272 738) or retire@asb.co.nz

We will require certain information and documents from your solicitor before paying the withdrawal.

If you are considering applying for this benefit now or in the near future, please contact us for an application form. We will also send you a letter that clearly explains how the application process works, the eligibility requirements, and the documents we will need your Solicitor to provide us.

First home deposit subsidy

After three years of saving in KiwiSaver you may also be eligible for a first home deposit subsidy of $1,000 per year of saving up to $5,000. Eligibility criteria for this subsidy is determined by Housing New Zealand Corporation (HNZC) and includes minimum contribution levels and income and regional house price caps. The deposit subsidy is paid by the Government and is administered by HNZC. Full details are available from www.hnzc.govt.nz

Second-chance home buyers

Both of the above benefits will also be available to some home buyers who have previously owned property, where they have never used either of the above benefits and are in a similar position to a first home buyer in terms of income, assets and liabilities. For more information see www.hnzc.co.nz