I am self-employed and have been a member of KiwiSaver for nearly a decade, during which time I saved diligently for my retirement, which is still slightly more than 10 years away. Similarly, my wife has saved for her retirement with her KiwiSaver account. With the change of prime minister recently, and speculation the age of eligibility for NZ Super may need to be raised, I have realised I have mismanaged my KiwiSaver account all these years. Thinking about how a rise in the pension entitlement age would affect me, it has dawned on me that as my wife is 18 months older than myself, I should have been contributing most of my savings into her KiwiSaver account rather than my own. The reason of course is that she will reach retirement age before I do, and if both our contributions had gone to her account, these savings would then become available to us both, when I was still 18 months shy of normal retirement. Is there anything preventing me from contributing into my wife's KiwiSaver account, while contributing just enough into my own to gain the annual tax credit?
You raise an interesting point. Yes, the debate about raising the age of eligibility for NZ Super above 65 has been rekindled following John Key's resignation.
According to the KiwiSaver Act 2006, "the KiwiSaver end payment date is the later of - (a) the date on which the member reaches the New Zealand superannuation qualification age; or the five year qualification date".
This means that raising the age of eligibility for NZ Super will automatically lift the age at which members can access their KiwiSaver, unless the Government changes the KiwiSaver rules.
Is it crucial that you have access to all your savings when your wife turns 65? On reaching the age of eligibility many KiwiSaver members are choosing to continue with their savings rather than withdraw all their funds.