There has been much noise around the introduction of Kiwi Saver and little information. Like Bevan I have for some time been concerned about how Kiwi Saver will be treated by IRD if you are a “liable” parent.

I emailed Peter Dunne, Minister Responsible for Child Support and United Future leader, with some questions that I thought every “liable” parent should know the answer to before considering Kiwi Saver

Dear Mr Dunne,

I write to you as Minister Responsible for Child Support to seek clarification
as to how Kiwi Saver contributions will be treated when Child Support “liability” is calculated by Inland revenue.

Please provide plain English answers to the following questions.

1) If a “liable Parent” is in deemed to “owe a child support debt” will Inland Revenue be able to access a Kiwi Saver Account and debit the account to recover the alleged debt ?

1a) If so what criteria will be used before compulsory removal of account funds ?

2) Is their any legal mechanism in place to prevent the Government and/or employer contributions being taken into account by when creating a “child support income” for the purposes of a departure order application ?

Yours faithfully

James Nicolle

Peter Dunne has responded.

Due to the importance of this information for liable parents who are considering Kiwi Saver I am publishing Peter’s Response. Parents subjected to Child Support (TAX) assessments need to read this if they are contemplating Kiwi Saver:

Reply on Kiwi Saver & Child Support by Peter Dunne [314 KB pdf]

Regards

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