Over 7,500 people made early KiwiSaver withdrawals in February, taking out $186 million

More than 7,500 people made early KiwiSaver withdrawals during the month of February, withdrawing just over $186 million in the process.

A total of $186,086,258 was taken out in early withdrawals during February, with $149.1 million in first home withdrawals and $36.9 million in financial hardship withdrawals.

Those February figures were made up of 3,420 people making early withdrawals for home ownership reasons and 4,130 people because of financial hardship.

People are generally only able to withdraw from their KiwiSaver when they reach the age of 65 – the current retirement age in New Zealand. 

However, people can apply for early KiwiSaver withdrawals on financial hardship and first home ownership grounds.

According to Inland Revenue (IRD) which tracks these KiwiSaver statistics, February’s total early withdrawal figure was $42.7 million higher than January’s and $54.1 million higher than early withdrawals made in February 2024.

The last time early KiwiSaver withdrawals reached an all-time high was in November 2024 when over $222 million was taken out in early withdrawals. 

Inland Revenue (IRD) is KiwiSaver’s central administrator and tracks KiwiSaver statistics. IRD also ensures that KiwiSaver deductions from employers are passed onto member scheme providers.

The Government contributes 50 cents for every dollar a person contributes to their KiwiSaver, up to a maximum government contribution of $521.43. 

To get the full government contribution, people need to have contributed at least $1042.86 to their KiwiSaver between the 1st of July and 30th of June each year.

The latest IRD data shows KiwiSaver fund managers received $763.7 million in February, with the Government’s KiwiSaver contributions contributing $840,000.

Research firm Morningstar’s latest quarterly KiwiSaver survey estimated that the five biggest KiwiSaver providers in the country – ANZ, ASB, Fisher Funds, Westpac and Milford Asset Management – will make well over half a billion dollars in fees this year.

“We estimate these five providers will deduct more than $650 million in fees in 2025 from KiwiSaver members, at an average fee of around 0.80 of a cent per dollar invested,” Morningstar data director Greg Bunkall said in February.  

ANZ, ASB, Fisher Funds, Westpac and Milford Asset Management currently account for approximately 66% of assets in Morningstar’s database which is currently $81 billion dollars under management.

There is currently close to $122 billion in KiwiSaver funds under management as of the December 2024 quarter.

As of February 2025, there were 3.38 million members enrolled in KiwiSaver with 4,296 new members joining that month.

KiwiSaver scheme transfers came to 14,450 people in February. Scheme transfers occur when members want to move their KiwiSaver to a different provider.

By KiwiSaver scheme type, 654,069 members were in default allocated schemes, 212,237 were in employer nominated schemes, and 2,514,621 had actively chosen their KiwiSaver scheme.

The 25-34 category still has the largest number of members across KiwiSaver’s age bands with 740,679 members, followed by the 35-44 category which has 725,404 members. 

The 35-44 category has been growing steadily over the past year, up 33,869 members since February 2024 while the 25-34 membership category has fallen by 1,683 members in that period.

The number of non-active members – which IRD tracks through those who opt out of the scheme as well as those who close their accounts – came to 775,976 in February, which is 4,800 less than in January. 

The number of non-active members has grown by over 57,000 since February 2024.

KiwiSaver account closures came to 588,426 in February 2025, up 0.8% from 583,570 in January 2025. 

Reasons for KiwiSaver account closures include death, permanent emigration, retirement and serious illness. 

Almost 60,500 KiwiSaver accounts have closed for these reasons since February 2024.