Guide
KiwiSaver withdrawal by provider: how to apply, and what each one asks for
The rules about when you can withdraw are set by law and identical for every KiwiSaver scheme. What differs is the paperwork: where the form lives, whether you can do it in internet banking, what proof of identity is accepted, and how quickly the money lands. This guide walks through the process for New Zealand's largest providers, and the details that hold applications up.
Last checked September 2026
The rules are the same — the process is not
Whichever scheme you are in, you can withdraw at 65 (or after five years of membership if you joined at 60 or over), for a first home after three years of membership, for serious illness, for significant financial hardship, on permanent emigration, or on death. Your provider cannot loosen or tighten those rules.
What your provider does control is the administration. Bank-owned schemes tend to run withdrawals through internet banking or a branch, where your identity is already verified. Specialist providers run everything online through a member login, usually with an electronic identity check. Some first-home withdrawals must be certified by a lawyer or conveyancer and sent by them rather than by you.
Two practical consequences: the bank schemes are often quicker for simple withdrawals at 65 because your ID is already on file, and the specialist schemes are often better documented online, with clear checklists you can read before you start.
Bank-owned schemes: ANZ, ASB, BNZ and Westpac
ANZ runs the largest KiwiSaver scheme in the country. Withdrawal applications start from the KiwiSaver section of the ANZ website or from ANZ internet banking, and at 65 you can usually complete the whole thing digitally if you are an existing ANZ banking customer. First-home withdrawals go through a form that your solicitor completes part of.
ASB handles withdrawals through its KiwiSaver pages and FastNet Classic internet banking. Because ASB verifies identity through your existing banking relationship, retirement withdrawals for ASB customers are typically light on paperwork; if you bank elsewhere you will need certified identity documents.
BNZ and Westpac follow the same pattern: an online form, identity confirmed through the bank where possible, and a branch route if you would rather do it in person. For all four banks, a first-home withdrawal needs the sale-and-purchase agreement and your lawyer's trust-account details, and the money is paid to the lawyer, not to you.
The advantage of a bank scheme at withdrawal time is the branch network — if documents are the sticking point, you can walk in with them. The disadvantage is that call-centre wait times around the end of the financial year can be long.
Specialist providers: Milford, Fisher Funds, Generate and Booster
Milford, Fisher Funds, Generate and Booster all run withdrawals through an online member portal. You log in, select the withdrawal type, upload the supporting documents and submit. Identity is verified electronically against your passport or driver licence, or by a certified copy if the electronic check fails.
These providers generally do not have branches, so everything happens by upload, email or courier. In practice that is rarely a problem — but it does mean you should start earlier if your documents need certification by a lawyer, JP or chartered accountant.
Hardship applications with any specialist provider go to the scheme's supervisor for assessment, not to the provider itself, which is why they take longer and require the fullest evidence: bank statements, arrears notices, a budget, and often a statutory declaration.
Low-cost providers: Simplicity, Kernel, InvestNow and Sharesies
The newer low-cost schemes are built online-first, and their withdrawal processes reflect that: an online form inside your account, electronic ID verification, and email updates as the application progresses. There is no branch and usually no paper.
Simplicity and Kernel both publish plain-English withdrawal checklists on their websites, which is worth reading before you apply — knowing in advance that you need, say, your lawyer's trust-account details saves a round trip.
One quirk of the online-first schemes: because they hold very few paper records, a mismatch between the name on your KiwiSaver account and the name on your bank account or ID will stop the application cold. If you have changed your name, update it with the provider before you apply, not during.
What every provider will ask for
Regardless of who you are with, expect to supply proof of identity (passport or NZ driver licence, sometimes certified), a New Zealand bank account in your exact name, and your IRD number. For a first home, add the signed sale-and-purchase agreement, your solicitor's details and a statutory declaration that this is your first home and you will live in it.
For hardship, expect the longest list: recent bank statements, evidence of arrears or essential costs, a household budget, and details of any other assets you could use first. For serious illness, a medical certificate from a registered practitioner, and usually a second opinion.
The single most common delay is a name mismatch — 'Jim' on the bank account and 'James' on the KiwiSaver record. The second is an expired driver licence used as ID. Both are quick to fix if you check before you apply.
How long each provider takes
Providers do not guarantee timeframes, and published estimates move around. As a planning rule: a withdrawal at 65 is commonly paid within 5 to 10 working days once a complete application is received, a first-home withdrawal within 10 to 15 working days, and a hardship or serious-illness application in several weeks because a supervisor assesses it.
For a first home, that matters more than anything else in this guide. Tell your lawyer your provider and start the withdrawal as soon as your offer goes unconditional — not the week before settlement. If your settlement is tight, ask your provider for their current processing time in writing and share it with your lawyer.
Model when your balance reaches a depositThe full first-home withdrawal guide
Thinking of switching before you withdraw?
If a withdrawal is coming up within a year or two, switching providers just before it is usually the wrong order of operations — a transfer can take a couple of weeks, and it resets nothing in your favour. Switch after the withdrawal, or well before it.
What is worth doing before a withdrawal is checking your fund type. Money you plan to take out within two or three years sitting in a growth or aggressive fund is exposed to a fall you would have no time to recover from. That is a fund-choice question, not a provider question.
How switching actually worksWhich fund type matches your timeframeWhat your provider's fee costs over a lifetime