NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business / Personal Finance / KiwiSaver

Home truths: Tears after KiwiSaver shock

Simon Collins
By Simon Collins
Reporter·Herald on Sunday·
23 Apr, 2016 05:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

A young couple who were told they would qualify for an $8000 government grant to help buy their first home are in shock after finding out they can only get half that.

A young couple who were told they would qualify for an $8000 government grant to help buy their first home are in shock after finding out they can only get half that.

Feargus Norton, 23, has been in KiwiSaver since his parents opened an account for him when he was 15 - much longer than the minimum of three years required for a KiwiSaver HomeStart grant, and more than the five years required to get the maximum grant of $5000.

His partner Stephanie Matheson, 22, opened her account three years ago this January and thought she would get $3000.

But their expectations have been shattered by a footnote in the rules that not even their lawyers, mortgage lender or KiwiSaver providers knew about.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"First we went to ASB, which was lending us the money and was Steph's KiwiSaver provider," Norton said.

"They checked her KiwiSaver and originally gave us a pre-approval for up to $400,000 based on our income and our deposit, assuming we got $8000 between us from HomeStart."

Next they consulted Norton's parents' lawyer, and then a personal lawyer, who agreed they should get $8000.

In November they found a bargain: a 20-year-old three-bedroom townhouse next to a noisy motorway offramp in Onehunga that was selling for $370,000. Norton's parents gave $55,000 towards the deposit, and mortgaged their own home to buy the property in December, planning to on-sell to the young couple when Matheson qualified for HomeStart in January.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Then the nightmare began.

"The first time we knew we mightn't get it was when they replied to Steph saying she wouldn't get anything," Norton said.

She has worked part-time in a shop for most of her three years in KiwiSaver while studying speech-language therapy. But she didn't work for seven months of that time and Housing NZ, which runs HomeStart, said she would have to work for another seven months to clock up three years of "regular" KiwiSaver payments.

"I got a very teary call from Steph saying she'd had a call and they'd said no," Norton said.

Discover more

Business

More charges for sacked agent

23 Apr 05:00 PM
Business

Is this the only way for young buyers?

23 Apr 05:00 PM
Business

Readers share their market woes

24 Apr 05:00 PM
Business

Auckland house prices outstrip Sydney

25 Apr 05:00 PM

Then Housing NZ told him that he could only get $3000, and then only if he paid a top-up of $230.10, because he had only paid into KiwiSaver in three years and in one year he paid less than the required 3 per cent of his income. He works part-time as a contractor in his father's software business while studying computer science.

But his parents realised that the records he downloaded from Inland Revenue's KiwiSaver website were incomplete.

"Luckily, Mum is a good record-keeper and she had records back to 2008 on paper," Norton said. They went back to their bank and proved that they had made an early payment that Inland Revenue's records had somehow lost. Housing NZ then upped his grant to $4000.

Chapman Tripp lawyer Mike Woodbury, a KiwiSaver expert, said the rules requiring "regular" contributions of at least 3 per cent of income, or 3 per cent of the adult minimum wage for non-earners, were set purely by policy and not by law. The only place they are stated online is in footnote 12 of the HomeStart application form.

"I'm sure there could be higher-profile website disclosure," he said.

Norton's father, Idiom Software founder Mark Norton, said the HomeStart eligibility calculator on the Housing NZ website omitted the requirements around regular contributions completely. His firm specialises in entitlement calculators and he offered to design one for HomeStart for free.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from KiwiSaver

Premium
KiwiSaver

'Opening a can of worms': Govt considers allowing KiwiSaver withdrawals for farms

10 Jun 05:00 PM
Premium
Business|personal finance

Tens of thousands more Kiwis seeking financial help from KiwiSaver

09 Jun 05:00 PM
Premium
Opinion

Fran O’Sullivan: It’s time NZ had a serious debate about making KiwiSaver compulsory

30 May 09:00 PM

Why Cambridge is the new home of future-focused design

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from KiwiSaver

Premium
'Opening a can of worms': Govt considers allowing KiwiSaver withdrawals for farms

'Opening a can of worms': Govt considers allowing KiwiSaver withdrawals for farms

10 Jun 05:00 PM

Finance Minister Nicola Willis is seeking advice from Inland Revenue.

Premium
Tens of thousands more Kiwis seeking financial help from KiwiSaver

Tens of thousands more Kiwis seeking financial help from KiwiSaver

09 Jun 05:00 PM
Premium
Fran O’Sullivan: It’s time NZ had a serious debate about making KiwiSaver compulsory

Fran O’Sullivan: It’s time NZ had a serious debate about making KiwiSaver compulsory

30 May 09:00 PM
Premium
Mary Holm: The biggest winners and losers from the Government's KiwiSaver changes

Mary Holm: The biggest winners and losers from the Government's KiwiSaver changes

30 May 05:00 PM
Clean water fuelling Pacific futures
sponsored

Clean water fuelling Pacific futures

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP