Using KiwiSaver for weight loss surgery (2026)

Possibly. Apply under significant financial hardship - the cost of medical treatment. The scheme rules list the cost of medical treatment for an illness or injury as a form of significant financial hardship (Inland Revenue: significant financial hardship; KiwiSaver scheme rules (Inland Revenue)). Your KiwiSaver provider and its supervisor (trustee) decide, case by case - not Inland Revenue, not your GP and not &NewMe.

The trustee must be reasonably satisfied that other reasonable sources of funding have been explored and exhausted, and may limit the withdrawal to the amount needed. You sign a statutory declaration about your assets and liabilities, and the trustee can ask for medical evidence.

Why not serious illness? The industry's guidelines say bariatric surgery should ordinarily be dealt with under hardship (Financial Services Council serious illness guidelines (2023)), and the financial ombudsman has upheld serious-illness declines for weight loss surgery (FSCL case, FSCL case). Serious illness means a condition that permanently stops you working or poses a serious and imminent risk of death (Inland Revenue: serious illness).

The real price of your treatment, as written in your quote - for example NZ$5,490 for the NewMe Comfort package (surgery, 3 nights in hospital, 1 hotel night, transfers, medication, protein and dietitian support).

The trustee pays the cost of medical treatment and may limit the amount to what it considers necessary. Including travel (flights) is your choice - if you want to, ask your coordinator to itemise travel separately in writing. Never inflate the amount: Your trustee may contact the company named on your quote/invoice (your agency or hospital) to check your quote, surgery date and the amount still owed, so the quote must be accurate.

On hardship grounds you can only withdraw your own and your employer's contributions and returns (Inland Revenue: significant financial hardship); government contributions and the $1,000 kick-start stay in your account.

The KiwiSaver rules do not exclude treatment overseas, and the provider forms and industry hardship guidelines we checked have no location rule (for example the ANZ hardship form). Patients in Türkiye have been approved by many providers, including ANZ and Fisher Funds (RNZ, March 2026 reported one approved case).

But trustees decide case by case. In 2025 one ANZ application was declined because the supervisor (NZ Guardian Trust) said it would only consider surgery in New Zealand; other ANZ applications for Türkiye were approved. Call your provider before you apply and ask whether overseas surgery is accepted. Westpac asks members applying for gastric surgery to call 0508 972 254 first.

1. Use the readiness check above to get your provider's page, form and document list.
2. See your GP. Bring our GP information pack (PDF). The letter should cover your condition and its impact, why surgery is needed, whether public funding is available, and your established relationship with the GP - dated within 30 days.
3. Get a KiwiSaver-ready written quote in your full legal name: the package price in NZD, what it includes, hospital, surgeon and dates. Some trustees want it no older than 60 days.
4. Get your provider's KiwiSaver hardship form - not your bank's loan-hardship form - and sign the statutory declaration in person in front of a Justice of the Peace, lawyer or other authorised person.
5. Send everything together and wait. Patients typically hear back in 2-4 weeks (range about 10 days to 10 weeks); missing documents are the main cause of delay.
6. Book once you know. Tell your coordinator you are applying before you pay a deposit, so the refund terms are clear in writing. Deposit, refund and package terms are set by the provider: NewMe Comfort pricing and refunds · patient service agreement.

Providers set their own lists. These are the documents their forms usually ask for:

• Your provider's KiwiSaver hardship withdrawal form
• A statutory declaration of your assets and liabilities, signed in person in front of an authorised witness
• Certified copy of your photo ID and proof of address - the same address on every document
• Bank statements for all accounts (usually 3 months) and evidence of your income and expenses
• Evidence that other funding is not available (for example a declined loan application)
• A GP letter (see below), and specialist letters if you have them
• Your written quote, in your full legal name
• Patients report that some providers (for example BNZ, ANZ, ASB) also asked for a New Zealand surgeon's quote with their name and date

Your trustee may contact the company named on your quote/invoice (your agency or hospital) to check your quote, surgery date and the amount still owed, so the quote must be accurate. Your coordinator can send the company verification details your bank or trustee needs.

One trustee asked the treating doctor to cover four points - a good structure for any provider:

• Your condition, how severe it is and how it affects your daily life and work (BMI, weight-related conditions, medication)
• Why weight loss surgery is needed - what you have tried before (diets, programmes, medication)
• Whether publicly funded treatment is available to you, and how long the wait would be
• That your GP has an established clinical relationship with you

Download the GP information pack (PDF), or the editable pack and GP letter template (Word). Your GP writes the letter in their own words on practice letterhead, signed and dated within 30 days. Your GP does not have to endorse surgery overseas to confirm your medical facts.

It happens - some GPs are cautious about surgery overseas. You can:

• Ask your GP for a factual letter about your BMI and conditions, even if they will not recommend surgery in Türkiye
• Give your GP the GP pack - it explains what is and is not being asked
• See another GP at your practice or another practice, or ask a specialist who already treats you
• Ask your provider exactly what medical evidence it needs

We cannot promise an outcome. Whatever you decide, keep your GP in the loop: they stay your doctor at home after surgery.

Most applications are approved. Patients who are declined usually succeed after re-applying with the missing documents - ask your provider for the reason in writing. A missing document, an unclear GP letter or bank statements that do not show hardship are the usual reasons.

Your deposit: Deposit, refund and package terms are set by the provider: NewMe Comfort pricing and refunds · patient service agreement. With any other provider, your coordinator explains that provider's refund terms in writing before you pay.

If money is tight, free financial mentors at MoneyTalks can help you look at other options.

All 32 KiwiSaver schemes on the Inland Revenue provider list, with each provider's own hardship page and form (checked 7 October 2026). The wizard above turns these into a checklist for your provider.

• ANZ - supervisor: NZ Guardian Trust - hardship page · form
• ASB - supervisor: Public Trust - hardship page
• BNZ - supervisor: NZ Guardian Trust - hardship page
• Westpac - supervisor: NZ Guardian Trust - hardship page · form
• AMP - supervisor: Public Trust - hardship page
• Fisher Funds (formerly Kiwi Wealth, Fisher TWO, Aon) - supervisor: Public Trust - hardship page · form
• SBS Wealth (formerly Lifestages) - supervisor: Trustees Executors - hardship page · form
• Booster (formerly Grosvenor) - supervisor: Public Trust - hardship page
• Simplicity - supervisor: Public Trust - hardship page · form
• SuperLife - supervisor: Public Trust - hardship page
• QuayStreet - supervisor: NZ Guardian Trust - hardship page · form
• JMI Wealth - supervisor: Public Trust - hardship page · form
• Craigs - supervisor: NZ Guardian Trust - hardship page · form
• Milford - supervisor: Trustees Executors - hardship page · form
• Generate - supervisor: Public Trust - hardship page
• Mercer - supervisor: Trustees Executors - hardship page · form
• Kernel - supervisor: Trustees Executors - hardship page
• Kōura - supervisor: Public Trust - hardship page
• InvestNow - supervisor: Public Trust - hardship page
• Sharesies - supervisor: Trustees Executors - hardship page
• Pathfinder - supervisor: Public Trust - hardship page
• Pie (formerly Juno) - supervisor: Trustees Executors - hardship page · form
• Summer (formerly Forsyth Barr) - supervisor: Trustees Executors - hardship page · form
• Hive (formerly Aurora) - supervisor: Public Trust - hardship page
• AE (Always-Ethical) (formerly Amanah) - supervisor: Trustees Executors - hardship page · form
• GoalsGetter (formerly Nikko AM) - supervisor: Public Trust - hardship page · form
• Christian KiwiSaver - supervisor: Scheme trustee (restricted scheme) - hardship page · form
• SuperEasy - supervisor: Scheme trustee (restricted scheme) - hardship page
• KiwiWRAP - supervisor: Trustees Executors - hardship page · form
• Evidential - supervisor: Trustees Executors - hardship page
• MAS - supervisor: Public Trust - hardship page · form
• NZ Funds - supervisor: NZ Guardian Trust - hardship page · form

• A withdrawal reduces your retirement savings - the Financial Markets Authority explains what to think about first (FMA: thinking of a hardship withdrawal?).
• Most providers pay the money into your own New Zealand bank account, not to the hospital.
• If you receive a benefit, ask Work and Income whether a withdrawal - or time overseas - affects it before you apply.
• KiwiSaver pays for the treatment - it is not insurance. Read about safety, ACC and travel insurance in Turkey vs New Zealand.
• &NewMe is not a financial adviser and cannot apply for you or promise approval.

• A KiwiSaver-ready written quote within 24 hours: package price in NZD, what is included and excluded, hospital, surgeon and dates
• The GP information pack (PDF) for your GP
• Company verification details for your bank or trustee - your coordinator sends them on request
• Your surgeon's details and aftercare plan for your GP, if they ask

Questions? Your coordinator answers on WhatsApp - many New Zealand patients have been through this process before you.

• Inland Revenue: significant financial hardship (updated February 2025)
• Inland Revenue: serious illness
• Inland Revenue: getting my KiwiSaver funds early
• KiwiSaver scheme rules (Inland Revenue)
• Financial Services Council serious illness guidelines (2023)
• Financial Services Council hardship processing guidelines (2022)
• FSCL case, FSCL case
• RNZ, 16 March 2026
• Financial Markets Authority
• ANZ hardship form
• Westpac: accessing KiwiSaver early
• Each provider's hardship page and form (list above)
• Patient experience: &NewMe patients and support group, 2024-2026 (anonymised)
• All checked 7 October 2026