What happens to your KiwiSaver at age 65?

As long as you've been a KiwiSaver member for a minimum of 5 years, you become eligible to withdraw all your savings when you qualify for NZ Super, currently age 65. If you joined KiwiSaver at age 62, you wouldn't be able to withdraw your money until age 67.
However, is withdrawing all your savings the best thing to do?
 

What's likely to be important to you at 65?

When it's time to leave the work-force and move into retirement, people say what matters most is:

• that they have a regular income on which to live
• that they have the ability to access extra money for one-off expenses such as travel, health or unexpected expenses
• that they have investments which allow them to sleep at night, that are flexible, that provide a good return and which have low fees 

KiwiSaver is now a smart option

Keeping some of your funds in KiwiSaver when you retire is now a smart option because it offers all of the above. For example, KiwiSaver providers such as AMP and ANZ/OneAnswer allow you to:

1. leave your savings where they are until you need them where they'll continue to provide an investment return
2. withdraw some or all of your savings from as little as $1,000 at a time. Any withdrawals from your KiwiSaver account are tax-free
3. Set up a regular withdrawal from as little as $250 per fortnight, per month or per quarter
4. Change your investment choice at any time to suit your risk profile
5. Take advantage of the very low fees as compared to many other investment options 
    

KiwiSaver can give you a better return than a bank deposit!

In June 2015, AMP wrote to its KiwiSaver customers who had reached or were nearing 65, pointing out that their KiwiSaver scheme "can give you a better return than a bank deposit".  AMP compared the returns from their Conservative Fund to the term deposit rates offered by the major banks over a recent 12 month period and the difference might surprise you.

* AMP KiwiSaver Scheme returns are after annual management fees but before tax, administration and membership fees. The return of the AMP Conservative Fund since inception has been 5.42% pa. AMP KiwiSaver Scheme returns and term deposit rates may vary from year to year. Past performance is not indicative of future fund performance and is not guaranteed by any party.

# Term Deposit rates are stated gross of tax and any applicable charges with interest paid at maturity. Term Deposit rates have been provided by interest.co.nz.

Talk to us when you're ready to explore your options - we're here to help on 03 470 1030.