KiwiSaver First Home Withdrawal Timeline and Checklist NZ

Getting the timing right on your KiwiSaver first home withdrawal matters: if the money doesn’t arrive before settlement, you may not be able to settle on time. This page sets out when to do what, then gives the same steps as a checklist. How to fill in the application itself is in the KiwiSaver first home withdrawal guide, and the rest of this section is on the KiwiSaver first home hub.

The Timeline at a Glance

The Most Important Rule: Don’t Leave It Late

The most common timing mistake is waiting until a few days before settlement to apply. Providers need time to review the application and sell your units (MAS, for example, asks for the form at least 10 business days before the withdrawal date), and providers ask for between 10 and 15 working days, so check your own provider’s lead time.

Apply as soon as you have a signed sale and purchase agreement, and check with your provider whether it needs the agreement to be unconditional before it will process the withdrawal.

Checking Your Three-Year Membership Date

You need at least three years of KiwiSaver membership by the time of the withdrawal, so if you are close to the date, plan your purchase around it; your provider or Inland Revenue (0800 549 472) can confirm when you joined. When the clock starts, including for members who were auto-enrolled, and what counts toward the three years are in the eligibility guide.

Month-by-Month Before You Buy

6 to 12 months before buying:

• Confirm your three-year KiwiSaver date (or work out when you will reach it)
• Check your KiwiSaver balance in your provider’s app or website
• Talk to a lender or mortgage adviser about borrowing

3 to 6 months before buying:

• Get formal pre-approval from a lender. If you are looking at the First Home Loan, its rules are in the First Home Loan guide
• If you have owned property before, apply to Kāinga Ora for a previous home owner decision, because your provider can’t approve the withdrawal without it
• Gather identification and any eligibility documents

1 to 2 months before buying:

• Find your provider’s first home withdrawal application form
• Choose a solicitor and ask for their trust account details
• Find out who can witness your statutory declaration (such as a lawyer or Justice of the Peace)

The day you sign the sale and purchase agreement:

• Tell your solicitor you are using KiwiSaver and confirm the settlement date
• Start the application with all supporting documents
• Ask your provider to confirm receipt and its expected payment date

1 to 2 weeks after sending the application:

• Follow up with your provider on progress
• Confirm with your solicitor that the money is expected before settlement
• If the settlement date changes, tell your provider straight away

What Happens If the Money Arrives Late?

If your KiwiSaver money isn’t in your solicitor’s trust account by settlement, you may be in breach of contract. Under a standard agreement the vendor could charge penalty interest or, in time, cancel.

Your solicitor can sometimes negotiate a short extension with the vendor’s solicitor, but that isn’t guaranteed. If the money arrives early, it simply waits in your solicitor’s trust account until settlement day.

Checklist: From House Hunting to Settlement

Before you start house hunting

• Check your eligibility. You need at least three years of KiwiSaver membership, no previous home or land ownership (an interest in Māori land does not count; a Kāinga Ora previous home owner decision is another route), a home or land in New Zealand you will live in, and no earlier first home withdrawal. Full rules: first home withdrawal eligibility.
• Get a withdrawal estimate. You can withdraw everything except $1,000 (and any savings transferred from an Australian superannuation scheme, or government contributions for periods when New Zealand was not your principal place of residence). Your balance will keep changing with contributions and market movements until the withdrawal is paid. See how much KiwiSaver you can use as a house deposit.
• Check your three-year date and confirm it with your provider if you are close.
• Get mortgage pre-approval. Your lender will want to know how much of your deposit is coming from KiwiSaver.

When you make an offer

• Include a finance condition. A finance condition gives your lender time to formally approve the mortgage for that property. Don’t make the agreement unconditional until your finance is confirmed.
• Tell your solicitor straight away. As soon as the offer is accepted, tell your solicitor you are using KiwiSaver. The money is paid into their trust account, they usually help with the application’s timing, and they need the time to arrange it.

Once the agreement is signed (and unconditional, if your provider requires it)

• Send the withdrawal application. Include the signed sale and purchase agreement, your statutory declaration, identification and your solicitor’s trust account details. The documents providers ask for are listed in the withdrawal guide.
• Allow your provider’s lead time, commonly 10 to 15 working days. It can take longer if a document is missing or your provider has questions.

In the week before settlement

• Confirm your solicitor has received the KiwiSaver money.
• Check the settlement statement. Your solicitor will show the purchase price, the KiwiSaver withdrawal received, the mortgage advance, adjustments (such as rates) and any amount you still need to pay in.
• Pay in any remaining deposit funds by the date your solicitor asks for.

On settlement day

• Your solicitor pays the vendor’s solicitor, the title transfers to you and you get the keys. You don’t need to do anything yourself.

After settlement

• Your KiwiSaver account stays open with at least $1,000 in it, with the same provider, contribution rate and fund. Payroll and employer contributions continue as before.

Fund Type and Timing: The Facts

Your withdrawal is your balance when your provider sells your units, so it moves with your fund’s returns until the payment is made. Funds with more shares (growth and aggressive) tend to rise and fall more in value over short periods than funds with more cash and bonds (conservative and defensive). Switching fund changes how exposed your balance is to those movements from the date of the switch; it doesn’t recover a fall that has already happened.

How fund types differ is in KiwiSaver fund types explained, and how a switch works (and how long it takes) is in how to change your KiwiSaver fund type.

Common Timing Mistakes

What to Read Next

• KiwiSaver First Home Withdrawal Guide: the application, documents and steps
• First Home Withdrawal Eligibility: who qualifies
• KiwiSaver House Deposit Guide: how much you can withdraw
• KiwiSaver for a House and Land Package: timing when settlement waits for the build