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Thread ID: 89032 2008-04-18 02:35:00 who's your kiwisaver provider? stacey1122 (11579) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
659902 2008-04-18 02:35:00 i just got a westpac bank account and got a kiwisaver enrolement form from my employer. i have been looking at kiwisaver providers and i want to enrol in one, but i think i may have a problem.

i am with westpac, and the kiwisaver provider i want to join is asb bank, but i am not a member of asb bank. do i have to open an asb account to choose them as my kiwisaver provider or not?

Anyone else been in this situation?
stacey1122 (11579)
659903 2008-04-18 03:30:00 You shouldn't need to be a ASB customer before you sign up to their kiwisaver .. Nomad (952)
659904 2008-04-18 03:49:00 You can use any provider and switch at will without having to be a current customer of that provider.

KiwiSaver and your bank accounts/investments are 2 completely independent things.
beeswax34 (63)
659905 2008-04-19 03:48:00 No Kiwisaver provider has to accept you as a client. They can set their own terms so long as they do not provide you with side benefits (to avoid providers with low interest and side benefits from effectively extracting money from the system).

I use Westpac for both my accounts and Kiwisaver. It's much easier to have one central place for all accounts.
TGoddard (7263)
659906 2008-04-19 04:40:00 I use Westpac for both my accounts and Kiwisaver. It's much easier to have one central place for all accounts.

I don't see why it's "much easier"?
I bank with Bank Direct (ASB in drag) and have Kiwisaver with Gareth Morgan and there's absolutely no problem at all.
TideMan (4279)
659907 2008-04-19 05:57:00 The kiwisaver does not have a bank account number, its not on a eftpos card or anything like that . The account is simply credited via the employer and maybe via IRD, that is administered automatically via them .

The only easier thing I guess is that, instead of contacting 2 company you now only need to contact 1 .

I'm with Gareth Morgan Kiwisaver and I have banks accounts with various banks . Eventually I would cancel the BNZ account because when I get to 30yrs old they start billing me (monthly) for the cheque (transaction account) . I would be using HSBC because its a transaction account without the cheque book feature, its free to use unlimited and its also a 8+% interest earning . I don't have to transfer the funds to a savings account to earn the interest .

I also find the BNZ has more hidden charges, like autopayment setup cost, payee direct credit (internet transfer) fees even if its like from the phone company . If you don't create a payee and just type their number its free but only up to $10k, if you do more than that you need to do a few transactions or that you need to pay for a payee fee . The thing with BNZ is if you type the payee name wrong and you edit it, that is counted as a 2x fee .
Nomad (952)
659908 2008-04-19 06:34:00 Tower, I just went with what work was using. radium (8645)
659909 2008-04-20 04:16:00 so if you signup to kiwisaver with one employer, then a few months later you changed jobs and you get given a kiwisaver form and you tick YES to the box that says 'do u have kiwisaver' and write your ird number, does the kiwisaver provider know you have changed jobs and have a new employer? stacey1122 (11579)
659910 2008-04-20 04:33:00 Yeah they do the kiwisaver company gets the funds from IRD .. afaik. IRD will debit the money from you, in most jobs they debit the tax from you before they pay you .. so they debit the kiwisaver money from you and then they pay your kiwisaver company whoever that is.....

Just because your company uses one kiwisaver company does not mean you have to use that ... you can pick your own one. There is like over 20 diff compnaies you can go with ....

If you spent some time with one, and didn't like them.. you can transfer your account to another kiwisaver company. There may be a fee or something - check that company out ....
Nomad (952)
659911 2008-04-20 04:43:00 I use Westpac for both my accounts and Kiwisaver. It's much easier to have one central place for all accounts.
Not a great idea. Better to spread any risk - recent investors in 17 finance companies and in Blue Chip will tell you that belatedly. Westpac should not be a a high risk at all however as, I read recently, all NZ Banks have A+ ratings apart from TSB which is something like BBB+ or BBB-.

Nevertheless no logic for using Kiwisaver just because your accounts are there - the reverse makes more sense !
Misty :2cents:
Misty (368)
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