Investing 101
Guides to achieve your goals
Building your KiwiSaver savings?
See if you’re on track with our online KiwiSaver retirement calculator.
Want advice?
Milford’s digital advice tool will recommend the appropriate Milford Fund for you, by asking a series of questions to establish your investment goals and tolerance for risk.
Investment Fundamentals
Understanding Unit Price
FAQs: KiwiSaver in general
Signing up to KiwiSaver is a great way to save for your future. If you are aged 18-65 and contribute to your account, you are eligible to receive an annual Government Contribution to your account. In addition, if you are contributing out of your salary or wages, your employer is required to contribute to your account. The combination of these contributions plus the investment returns achieved by your KiwiSaver provider can help grow your savings significantly over time.
The government will contribute 50 cents for every dollar of member contributions to your KiwiSaver account up to a maximum of $521.43 per year for KiwiSaver members aged between 18 and 65 years.*
The KiwiSaver financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June. Contributions must be made within this time period to be considered for the annual Government Contribution. In July, the administrator of the Milford KiwiSaver Plan will provide the IRD with investors’ KiwiSaver contribution amounts for investors’ Government Contributions. The IRD will normally pay Government Contributions to investors’ KiwiSaver accounts directly in July.
*Eligible criteria apply.
This figure can vary dramatically and will depend on a wide variety of factors such as how much you choose to contribute, how early you sign up, the fund(s) you choose to invest in, the investment returns delivered by your KiwiSaver provider and whether you make any early withdrawals.
You may find our KiwiSaver Calculator helpful for a rough estimate of what your future savings could look like.
FAQs: First home buyers
KiwiSaver members may be able to withdraw all or part of their KiwiSaver savings early if they are buying a first home; however terms and conditions do apply. An application form must be completed along with supporting documentation. Please see our Member Guide for more detail.
For more information, or to obtain a First Home Withdrawal Form, please contact Milford at [email protected] or phone 09 921 4700 or 0800 662 346.
If your withdrawal is approved, your KiwiSaver funds will be transferred into your solicitor’s trust account prior to settlement and will be used as part of the purchase price payable to the vendor on the settlement date. If the agreement is not completed then your solicitor will repay the funds back to Milford to be reinvested back into your KiwiSaver account.
You may also be eligible for a first home grant, to find out more please visit them at https://kaingaora.govt.nz/
FAQs: KiwiSaver contributions
If you are contributing out of your salary or wages, then your contribution rate is managed by your employer. It is set to the default rate of 3% of your before‐tax pay. You can choose whether you would like to increase your contribution rate to either 4%, 6%, 8% or 10% of your salary before tax.
You can do this by writing a letter to your employer, indicating your new rate or by filling in a KiwiSaver deduction form and giving it to your employer. This deduction form is called a “KS2” form and is available on the IRD website.
You can also choose to do additional voluntary direct contributions to your account.
If you are self-employed or not employed you can contribute directly to your account. All direct voluntary contributions to your account, whether you are employed or not, can be done through your online Milford client portal.
Option A: Direct credit via your online banking
Set up regular payments or do a one-off payment via your online banking straight into your KiwiSaver account using the following details:
Bank account name: Milford KiwiSaver Plan
Account number: 02 0500 0966274 00
Particulars: Please enter your Milford Account Name
Code: Please enter Three Letter Fund Code e.g. KWS
Payer Reference: Please enter Milford Account Number (starts with ML)
Option B: Set up a Direct Debit
Click here to set up automatic regular payments from your bank account straight into your KiwiSaver account.
Option C: Tell your employer to increase your contribution rate
You can set your contribution rate at either 3%, 4%, 6%, 8% or 10% of your salary or wages. Simply tell your employer in writing the rate you would like.
FAQs: KiwiSaver withdrawals
You become eligible to withdraw your retirement savings when you qualify for NZ Superannuation (currently age 65).
If you joined KiwiSaver prior to 1 July 2019, you also need to have been a member of one or more KiwiSaver Plans for a minimum of 5 years.
Once you have reached eligibility, you have the option of withdrawing all or part of your savings at any time. To obtain a copy of the Eligibility Withdrawal Form please contact our Investor Services team on 0800 662 346 or [email protected].
To apply for an early withdrawal from your KiwiSaver account due to one of the following, please contact our Investor Services Team on 0800 662 346 or [email protected]
- Significant Financial Hardship
- Serious Illness
- Life Shortening Congenital Conditions
- Death of a Member
- Permanent Emigration
For more information on the criteria for the above withdrawal types please view our Member Guide.
Milford KiwiSaver Plan and Investment Funds
We offer a diverse range of investment strategies across our Funds. Each Fund has a different investment strategy, risk return profile and mix of asset classes.
Join or switch right now
Join or switch to Milford KiwiSaver Plan or Investment Funds right now.
