How to have a baby and not lose out on KiwiSaver money
Key tips for managing money on your parental leave
Congratulations! You’re having a baby!
There is a lot to consider when having a child, including what to do with your KiwiSaver contributions.
How parental leaves affects KiwiSaver
For many women, the time we take on parental leave can really affect the amount of money we have in retirement. Every break in our KiwiSaver contributions means we are putting less money toward our retirement and reducing our ability to benefit from compounding interest.
While you are on Government paid parental leave (PPL), it’s up to you to keep contributing to your KiwiSaver account.
There are no employer contributions from PPL payments. But, you can choose to continue your contributions while on PPL by completing an application at Inland Revenue. Or you can make your own payments directly to your Mercer KiwiSaver scheme account. It’s like paying a bill but paying yourself using online banking instead.
How to keep your KiwiSaver contributions going while you’re on maternity leave
- Talk with your partner and arrange for them to pay all or some of your contributions. You need to pay $1042.86 a year into your KiwiSaver account to be eligible for the government contribution (up to $521 every year!)
- Talk with your employer and find out if they have a policy to keep paying employer contributions while you are on leave. More and more employers are including this in their parental leave packages. If you are receiving parental leave paid from your employer, this will be subject to KiwiSaver deductions unless you are taking a savings suspension.
- KiwiSaver contributions are optional from PPL.
If you intend to use your KiwiSaver funds for a first home, check the Kāinga Ora website to find out if taking a break will affect your eligibility.
For more info and helpful tips, visit this link.
Table Talk:
Sign your baby up for a KiwiSaver scheme or an Investment Account
One of the things you can do as a parent is to get your child into a KiwiSaver scheme.
If you contribute $10 per week or $520 a year from birth to 18 years old they could have over $14,000*
This plus compounding interest means that by the time your child is 25 they are likely to have over $35,000 available for a first home deposit or more if they also start contributing.
*Calculations based on Sorted Kiwisaver Calculator. Figures are suggestive only and do not constitute financial advice.
Having a baby doesn’t mean you should lose out on your future savings.
Join The Table and thousands of Kiwi women on their journey towards financial freedom today.
The above article is general information and does not purport to give financial advice. The Mercer KiwiSaver scheme and Mercer FlexiSaver are issued by Mercer (N.Z.) Limited. Product Disclosure Statements are available free of charge at seatatthetable.co.nz.
