KiwiSaver withdrawals on the rise as lockdowns cause financial hardship

Financial hardship brought on by the lockdown is pushing more people try to make withdrawals from their KiwiSaver to cover outstanding debts, RNZ reveals. Financial Services Complaints chief executive Susan Taylor said: “By and large the people coming through to us have got a lot of debt and they are having trouble servicing that debt, and are wanting to access their KiwiSavers to help pay that debt.” Centrix managing director Keith McLaughlin said, “Cases of financial hardship have increased by 14% during this lockdown (mostly on mortgage and credit card debt).”