The Government fears the rules are disadvantaging the likes of farm workers, rural teachers, country police, defence personnel, health professionals, clergy and diplomatic staff, who can\u2019t always live in the homes they own. <\/p>\n
So, it is proposing to make a carve out in the rules to enable those on service tenancies, whose jobs come with accommodation they either do or don\u2019t pay for, to make withdrawals from their KiwiSaver accounts for their first homes. <\/p>\n
Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the status quo was unfair.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, we\u2019re making a technical change to the KiwiSaver Act to ensure workers in service tenancies aren\u2019t denied the opportunity to put a foot on the property ladder,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
As Willis signalled mid-last year<\/a>, the Government is also moving to allow KiwiSaver withdrawals for farm purchases. <\/p>\n It recognises farmers can\u2019t always meet the requirement of buying a first home under their own name, as farmland is typically bought through a commercial vehicle.<\/p>\n So, it is planning to allow farmers to use companies, trusts, or partnerships (provided they have majority ownership and control of the entity used to make the purchase) to buy their first homes with the help of the savings in their KiwiSaver accounts. <\/p>\n Farmers will also need to live on the property.<\/p>\n Under the proposal, \u201cfarmland\u201d will be defined as land used exclusively or principally for agricultural, horticultural, or pastoral purposes, or for the keeping of bees, poultry, or livestock. <\/p>\n The idea is that people won\u2019t be able to use their KiwiSaver accounts to buy forestry blocks, unless forestry (or any other non-farm commercial activity) makes up a small part of the land that is primarily used for farming. <\/p>\n Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson said the proposed changes would \u201cdeliver on the Government\u2019s commitment to back rural New Zealand and remove unnecessary barriers\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are targeted, practical changes that maintain KiwiSaver\u2019s core purpose, while making the scheme fairer for rural communities.\u201d<\/p>\n The proposed amendments were sparked by a Member\u2019s Bill in the name of National Party Rangit\u012bkei MP Suze Redmayne.<\/p>\n While Federated Farmers had called for the Government to change KiwiSaver settings, fund managers had warned against tinkering too much with the scheme.<\/p>\n