First home withdrawal for members that have made a contribution via Inland Revenue

Submission

(Matter raised by officials)

Schedule 1, clause 8(1) of the KiwiSaver scheme rules should be amended to clarify that the provision applies to a member at the earlier of satisfying either paragraph (a) or (b), provided that the member also satisfies the criteria in paragraph (c).

Comment

Schedule 1, clause 8 of the KiwiSaver scheme rules sets out the requirements for withdrawing funds for the purpose of purchasing a first home.

The current wording in clause 8(1) creates confusion with the use of “a member”, “any other member” and “any member”, and the use of “and” linking each paragraph. With this wording, if a person joins KiwiSaver directly through a scheme provider and contributes only via the provider, no matter how long they have been a member as soon as they send a contribution via Inland Revenue, the three-year time period for first home withdrawal restarts from the date the contribution was received by Inland Revenue.

Officials recommend that, provided a member has not already made a withdrawal under clause 8, eligibility to withdraw funds under clause 8 applies to the earlier of paragraph (a) or (b).

Recommendation

That the submission be accepted.