Farms, not just first homes: KiwiSaver changes allow more use of retirement funds to get on the property ladder
Sunday, 1 March 2026
Access to KiwiSaver to buy property will be expanded if Government-proposed changes to the KiwiSaver Act become law in the middle of the year as planned.
The law changes mean those living in employer-provided housing will be able to access their KiwiSaver funds to buy a home they don’t primarily live in, and farmers will no longer have to buy a farm in their own name to be able to use KiwiSaver funds towards it.
The KiwiSaver Amendment Bill is expected to be introduced in mid-2026. It will replace a Member’s Bill along the same lines by Rangitīkei MP Suze Redmayne, which is sitting in the biscuit tin.
National and Act have had to overcome scepticism about the change of policy from New Zealand First, which initially stymied the Government steaming ahead with the bill. Labour and the Greens also object to using KiwiSaver funds for property investment that is not a primary residence, and object in general to diverting funds designed to fund retirement living.
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But Finance Minister Nicola Willis, who made the announcement in Masterton on Sunday morning, said it was“not fair” that workers in service tenancies, such as farm workers, rural teachers, country cops, and defence personnel, “have effectively been locked out of first home withdrawal because their jobs require them to live in employer-provided housing.
“So we’re making a technical change to the KiwiSaver Act to ensure workers in service tenancies aren’t denied the opportunity to put a foot on the property ladder.
“The change will allow service tenancy workers to use their KiwiSaver for a first home purchase without having to live in it.”
Buying a farm
The Act will also be changed to allow first-time farm buyers to put their KiwiSaver balances towards the purchase of a farm through a commercial entity they majority own, where it will be their principal place of residence.
KiwiSaver rules currently allow the purchase of a farm under a KiwiSaver member’s name (so long as they intend to live on it) – however, in practice, most farms are purchased through a company or trust - “this reflects the commercial reality of modern farm ownership,” said Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson.
MPI estimates that less than 20% of agriculture businesses are individual proprietorships.
“Until now, that has prevented aspiring farmers from accessing KiwiSaver in the same way as someone buying a house in town,” Simpson said.
After the changes, KiwiSaver members buying farmland through a commercial vehicle will need to live on the property, and have majority ownership and control of the trust, company or partnership used to purchase it.
The definition of “farmland’ will have a similar meaning as in the Overseas Investment Act, meaning land used exclusively or principally for agricultural, horticultural, or pastoral purposes, or for the keeping of bees, poultry, or livestock.
But it also allows the farming to be used for other purposes alongside productive farming, including eco-tourism, and small forestry blocks as long as that is not the principle activity.
Counterpoint
Chief economist of Simplicity, Shamubeel Equab, has called the proposed changes to the KiwiSaver Act “problematic”, saying they could weaken KiwiSaver's core purpose as a retirement savings scheme and offering only marginal benefits to a small group of people, “while impacting millions of members”.
He said among other things, the average New Zealand farm of about 286 hectares is a large business asset and changes to allow farms to be bought may mean future proposals for other business investments, like a plumbing business or a home-based office, could also be enacted.
“KiwiSaver's primary goal is to provide long-term savings for retirement through regular contributions and compounding returns. This proposal risks weakening it from a retirement (and first home) fund to something else.”
But Federated Farmers’ dairy chair Richard McIntyre said allowing young farmers to access their KiwiSaver to buy a farm asset like a home is the number one thing the Government could do to help the next generation of farmers.
“It would shave years of hard work and saving off their progression through the industry, and really turbocharge their farming careers.”