A man says he's facing repossession of his vehicle and the forced sale of his house because it's taking too long to access his KiwiSaver. Photo: RNZ
A man who says he is facing repossession of his vehicle, the loss of items in storage and the forced sale of his house says it takes too long to access money in KiwiSaver.
Mark, who did not want to be identified publicly, contacted RNZ upset at the delays he was facing.
"I have battled with ASB for almost a month now trying to access some of my KiwiSaver. It is an absolutely horrific process, with long delays, repeated requests for the same information. Evidence of everything, even though I also had to sign a declaration in front of a justice of the peace.
"Today I sent them my last email. I've given up and will just have to see my car repossessed, personal belongings in storage auctioned off, and spend Christmas alone. I know they didn't put me in this position, but they sure as hell aren't helping me get out.
"It is by far the most gruelling, inhumane, humbling, revolting process I have ever been through - at a particularly stressful time when all you want is assistance and access to your own money."
He said he had given evidence of loans from family and friends but the bank wanted declarations of what had been lent, the agreed terms and repayments required.
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"I have already stated that while there is an expectation of repayment there are no terms, and I was not prepared to divulge to the lenders just how bad things had got that I was dipping into my KiwiSaver."
RNZ contacted ASB on Tuesday and he received an email the same day to tell him that his application was with the scheme's supervisor and it could take five days for a decision to be made.
"The car is being repossessed unless I pay $7000 today."
David Callanan, general manager of corporate trustee services at Public Trust, which is a supervisor for a number of KiwiSaver schemes including ASB, said December was always a busy month for KiwiSaver financial hardship withdrawals.
"That reflects it's been a tough year financially for many people, and with essential bills pilling up, some families are limping to the finish line. We're hearing that many providers are dealing with a surge in financial hardship applications and those high volumes are creating processing backlogs. For members counting on funds to come through urgently, any delay is bound to be frustrating.
"As a supervisor, we prioritise quick and efficient turnaround of applications as soon as they reach us for a decision. To ensure support reaches those who need it, our team will continue assessing applications throughout the holiday period."
The number of people making withdrawals for hardship reasons had increased a lot in recent years.
In November, 5380 KiwiSaver members withdrew savings for hardship reasons, up from 4950 a year earlier.
Dean Anderson, founder of Kernel Wealth said the industry had increased its resourcing to support this and both providers and supervisors were monitoring response times.
"However, the process can still feel slow for members who are under financial stress.
"One of the main causes of delay is the amount of documentation required. If the information provided with an application is incomplete or unclear, there can be multiple rounds of follow up, and that back and forth can significantly extend the time it takes to make a decision and process a payment."
He said the hardship process could be improved.
"One option would be to shift hardship assessments to a central government function - for example, within the Ministry of Social Development - or a similar agency tasked with both consistency and customer support. A central team could apply the hardship criteria more consistently across all providers, consider whether other forms of assistance or benefits such as those available through Work and Income might be more appropriate or effective than accessing retirement savings and help ensure that withdrawing KiwiSaver funds is genuinely a last resort rather than the first response to financial pressure.
"Our view is that KiwiSaver is primarily a long term retirement savings vehicle, so hardship withdrawals should be available where needed, but managed in a way that is both timely and consistent, and integrated with the broader support systems already in place for New Zealanders in financial difficulty."
ASB has not yet responded to a request for comment.
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