Accessing your investment

Your Mercer KiwiSaver scheme account is designed to help you boost your standard of living in retirement. Generally, you’ll only be able to access your KiwiSaver funds once you reach the qualifying age for NZ Super, currently age 65, or – if you joined after you turned 60 – once you’ve been a member for 5 years. For those who join KiwiSaver after 01 July 2019, the 5 years lock-in period may not apply.

To find out how much you're likely to need in retirement check out our Retirement Income Simulator tool.

For more information on the new rules for those joining after turning 60, please read the summary of Mercer KiwiSaver scheme regulatory update.

EARLY WITHDRAWALS

You may be able to make an early withdrawal of part, or all of your savings if you're:

• Buying your first home
  
• Life Shortening CongenitalCondition Withdrawal
• Suffering from a serious illness
• Suffering significant financial hardship
• Permanently emigrating from New Zealand

First home withdrawal

Once you’ve been a contributing KiwiSaver member for three years, you can withdraw all or part of your savings to use towards the purchase of your first home.  Before you take the leap and cash in your retirement savings to buy your first home, read our free guide to the KiwiSaver Home Start Scheme.

• Get the guide
• Watch the video
• Download a form
  

LIFE-SHORTENING CONGENITAL CONDITIONS

If you have a life-shortening congenital (existing from your date of birth) condition, you may be eligible to withdraw all or part of your savings.  

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

You’ll need to fill out an application form:

• Call us on 0508 637 237
• Download an application form here

Serious illness

If you’re suffering from a terminal illness or can no longer work due to a permanent disability, you may be eligible to withdraw all or part of your savings.  
Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

You’ll need to fill out an application form:

• Call us on 0508 637 237
• Download an application form here
  

SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL HARDSHIP

You may be eligible to access some of your KiwiSaver money early if you are experiencing significant financial hardship. Although it’s important to remember that KiwiSaver is a long-term investment and withdrawing your KiwiSaver money early can have a significant impact on your future first home or retirement savings. Therefore, prior to proceeding with a financial hardship withdrawal application, we recommend that you first explore the Government’s covid-19 financial support package and any other financial assistance options.

If you’re not sure if you are eligible for a significant financial hardship withdrawal, use our online quiz to check. It only takes around 2 minutes and if you appear to be eligible for a withdrawal, the application form will be available to download. Please note this quiz is not a guarantee of approval. An independent Scheme Supervisor is required to assess and approve financial hardship withdrawal applications and ensure that the applicant is suffering or is likely to be suffering financial hardship based on the supporting evidence provided. The application will require you to provide at a minimum:

• A correctly completed Statutory Declaration
• Suitable identification and proof of address
• 3 months’ worth of all bank statements for your household (this may include other family members)
• Evidence of all outstanding bills/costs that you wish to have considered as part of the application
• You may be asked to provide further evidence or details as part of the Scheme Supervisors assessment.

If you believe you have exhausted all other financial assistance options available to you outside of KiwiSaver and would still like to apply, please use our online quiz and/or you can contact us by emailing KiwiSaverEarlyRelease@mercer.com or calling 0508 637 237.

If you want to find out more about the process and requirements, we recommend you download and read our guide.

PERMANENT EMIGRATION

If you've moved overseas permanently and have been living overseas for a minimum of one year, you can withdraw your KiwiSaver savings from the Mercer KiwiSaver scheme.

If you’ve moved to Australia you can’t cash in your account but you can transfer your KiwiSaver to an approved Australian super fund under the Trans-Tasman Portability scheme.

In either case you’ll need to fill out an application form:

• Call us on 0508 637 237
• Download a Permanent Emigration form
• Download a Trans-Tasman portability application form
  

The information contained on this page is intended for general guidance only and is not personalised to you. It does not take into account your particular financial situation or goals. Before making any investment decision, you should refer to the product disclosure statement or consult an appropriately authorised adviser.