Q: In March I resigned from my job of seven years. During those seven years I have been contributing to KiwiSaver and my balance is now over $24,000. I have been unemployed since mid-March and looking for work. I am in my mid-30s. Can you please tell me what is happening with my KiwiSaver?
A: While you are not working, your KiwiSaver account is still active but no employee or employer contributions will be going into it. Those payments will have stopped when you got your last pay check. You should set up a MyIR login with Inland Revenue so you can track your payments. You can also see how much you have earned, and how much tax you have paid. You can also check your account by creating a login on your provider's website, or by internet banking if your provider is also your bank.
Because you are over 18 and under 65, in July you should receive a contribution to your KiwiSaver from the Government. This will be up to $521 depending on how much you have contributed since July 1 last year. This top-up will go through whether you are working or not.
If you can afford to make payments to your KiwiSaver account directly, saving $20 per week will entitle you to the full Government top-up in July next year. You can set up an automatic payment to your KiwiSaver provider.
You should be able to find their bank account details through internet banking.