KiwiSaver questions, answered.

Yes. Once you've been in KiwiSaver for at least 3 years and have been making regular contributions during that time, you can withdraw most of your balance for a first home deposit. You must leave $1,000 in the account. The rule is about consistency, not hitting a specific rate — as long as you've been contributing through your employer (or topping up regularly if you're self-employed), you're eligible.

Almost everything — your contributions, your employer's contributions, the government top-ups, and all the investment earnings — minus the $1,000 that must remain in the account. There's no maximum cap, just the $1,000 floor.

Most banks want a 10–20% deposit. On a $700,000 home, that's $70,000–$140,000. KiwiSaver is rarely the entire deposit on its own — it's usually combined with savings outside KiwiSaver, the First Home Loan scheme (5% deposits with Kāinga Ora-backed lending), or family help. Run the calculator to see what your KiwiSaver alone will be worth on settlement day.

It depends on the timeline. With less than 18 months to settlement, conservative or defensive is the safer call — a Growth fund can drop 10–20% in a bad year, which would gut your deposit at the worst possible moment. With 5+ years to go, Growth usually wins. The 2–4 year window is where it gets nuanced — a Balanced fund is often the right answer.

There's a useful distinction here. The TYPE of fund you're in — defensive, conservative, balanced, growth, aggressive — rarely needs to change. It should match your timeline, and your timeline only shifts at big life moments (buying a first home, hitting retirement). But the PROVIDER you're with, and how their fund is performing relative to others in the same category, varies all the time. Companies go up and down, fees creep, performance lags. So while you shouldn't be switching fund TYPES often, you should absolutely be reviewing whether your provider is still pulling its weight — at least once a year.

Three big changes. From 1 July 2025, the government contribution halved from $521.43/yr maximum to $260.72, and people earning over $180,000 no longer qualify. From 1 April 2026, the minimum contribution rate rises from 3% to 3.5%. From 1 April 2028, it rises again to 4%. We've written a full breakdown of the 2025–2028 KiwiSaver changes.

The legal minimum is currently 3% of your gross pay, rising to 3.5% from 1 April 2026 and 4% from 1 April 2028. Some employers contribute more — it's worth asking. The amount that lands in your account is slightly less than the headline rate because employer contributions are taxed.

From 1 July 2025, the government contributes 25 cents for every dollar you put in, up to a maximum of $260.72 per year. To get the full amount, you need to contribute at least $521.43 of your own money in the KiwiSaver year (1 July to 30 June). Most people earning over about $15,000 at the 3.5% contribution rate already hit the threshold automatically. People earning over $180,000 don't qualify at all.

Yes — both members of a couple can withdraw their KiwiSaver for a shared first home, as long as you each meet the eligibility rules (3+ years in KiwiSaver, never owned a home, contributed at the minimum rate). Combining two balances is what often makes a first home deposit feasible.

A fund switch is moving between fund types within the same provider — e.g. from ANZ Conservative to ANZ Growth. It's free, fast, no paperwork. A provider switch is moving your whole balance to a different KiwiSaver scheme — e.g. from ANZ to Milford. Usually free as well, takes 7–14 days, and you choose a new fund within the new provider. The bigger point: fund TYPE rarely needs to change once you've matched it to your timeline. But provider performance varies hugely year to year, so reviewing whether your scheme is still competitive — using something like the Morningstar quarterly survey — is worth doing annually.

Log in to your KiwiSaver provider's website or app — they all show your current fund and balance on the dashboard. If you don't know who your provider is, you can check via myIR (the Inland Revenue portal) or via the Disclose Register at disclose-register.companiesoffice.govt.nz.

Technically no — you can pick a fund yourself. But there are over 330 KiwiSaver funds across 25 providers in New Zealand, and most people don't have the time or background to compare them properly. An adviser narrows the field, makes the call that fits your situation, and reviews it as your life changes. Tanta does a free 30-minute initial chat to figure out whether ongoing advice would actually pay for itself for you.