ASB Bank has apologised after incorrectly sending an email out to customers saying they needed to add funds to their Kiwisaver account in order to receive hundreds of dollars extra from the Government.
The Government contributes 50 cents for every dollar KiwiSaver members invest in their accounts, up to a total of $521.43. This means to qualify you have to invest $1042 into your account by June 30 each year.
ASB earlier sent out an email to customers saying they had contributed $0 and if they wanted the Government contribution they had to invest the $1042.86 by the end of the month.
"If you're unable to contribute $1,042.86 by 30 June 2022, you'll still receive a partial annual Government contribution if you put some money into your KiwiSaver account before then," the email said.
The personalised email was sent to hundreds of Kiwisaver investors who had invested far more than that into their funds. This prompted ASB to later email out an explanation and an apology.
"Earlier today we sent you an email about the KiwiSaver annual Government contribution, which stated that you have made $0 contributions into your ASB KiwiSaver Scheme account since 1 July 2021.
"An error with our automated messaging system meant some customers may have received this email incorrectly even though they've made contributions to their KiwiSaver account this year.
"We have taken steps to correct this, and are sorry for any confusion that this may have caused.
"Please be assured your KiwiSaver account records with ASB are correct and are not affected by this communication error."
ASB went on to tell customers who received the email to "please ignore" the earlier message, and advised if they weren't on track to receive the full annual Government contribution they'd be sent a new, correct reminder next week.
"In the meantime, you can check your contributions on your KiwiSaver balance page via FastNet Classic internet banking or your ASB Mobile Banking app," the email said.
The latest data from ASB shows 53 percent of its Kiwisaver members were expected to get the full contribution, slightly up from last year.
But it's not all good news with a recent analysis finding Kiwis in their 30s will run out of KiwiSaver cash less than four years after retiring.
The analysis, commissioned by digital KiwiSaver advice platform BetterSaver, looked at the retirement prospects of Kiwis in balanced funds earning the average wage, with average household expenditure for where they live, as well as the national average current KiwiSaver balance of around $26,000.
Their data showed that, taking inflation into account, a 35-year-old New Zealander earning the national average wage could have enough retirement savings to last them just three years and seven months after they leave the workforce for good.
This means that at 65 years old - the age superannuation payments start and when many New Zealanders begin to retire - the KiwiSaver member would have around $468,000, which is equivalent to approximately $264,000 today, BetterSaver said.
More details about how to claim the Government contribution can be found here.
