Main features of the State Sector Retirement Savings Scheme

The State Sector Retirement Savings Scheme (SSRSS) is a voluntary retirement savings plan specially designed for the State sector.

Effective 1 October 2008 the SSRSS has closed to all new members.

  • Three SSRSS schemes are provided by two scheme providers, through a range of participating employers.
  • There is an employer subsidy for most staff, matching your contributions up to 3% of your gross base salary.  The SSRSS employer subsidy will no longer be payable if you begin receiving an employer contribution to a KiwiSaver scheme.
  • While you contribute (uf you are employed by a participating employer) the minimum you must pay is 1.5% of your gross base salary. You can pay more. There is no maximum.
  • Your contributions are deducted directly from your salary.
  • You can also pay lump sum amounts of $100 or more directly into your scheme.
  • You can choose to suspend your contributions, either for a certain time or indefinitely (subject to a maximum of two changes to contributions per scheme year).
  • If you take parental leave, you can choose to restart your contributions when you return to work. You can also choose to make up some or all of your missing contributions. If you are eligible for an employer subsidy and you make up some or all of your missing contributions within seven months of returning to work, your employer will pay your matching employer subsidy for this period.
  • Your membership of an SSRSS scheme is portable – it goes with you when you change jobs with participating employers.
  • You can withdraw some or all of the total value in your SSRSS scheme accounts:
    • on or after reaching your age of entitlement to New Zealand Superannuation (currently 65).
    • at any time during the ten years prior to your age of entitlement to New Zealand  Superannuation (ie currently from age 55), upon retiring or partially retiring with no intention of increasing your hours of paid employment.
    • from age 50 after resigning from State sector employment (with no intention of re-employment in the State sector).
    • 12 months after permanently emigrating from New Zealand.
    • in the event of your total and permanent disablement, death or serious illness.
    • in the event of significant financial hardship.
  • You can also access your voluntary savings up to twice per scheme year, subject to a minimum withdrawal amount.
  • If you plan to make a first home purchase, and have saved with SSRSS for at least three years from 1 July 2007, you may qualify to withdraw your own contributions to help pay your first home deposit. If you have already owned a home, you may also qualify if you are in the same financial position as a first home buyer. Your employer contributions will remain in your SSRSS account.
  • You can choose to transfer to a KiwiSaver scheme at any time.
  • On permanently leaving State sector employment, you can continue to save with SSRSS or transfer your balance to a KiwiSaver or other approved locked-in superannuation scheme.

    Notes

    References in this website to “the SSRSS” are references to all three retirement savings schemes administered by the scheme providers (AMP and ASB) under agreements with the State Services Commissioner.  An “SSRSS scheme” refers to one of those schemes.

    This website only summarises certain features of the SSRSS. For more details, contact your scheme provider.

Calculator

Use the calculator below to work out your possible contributions:

(min 1.5%)

Annual contributions

$0.00

Fortnightly contributions

$0.00

Glossary terms

Employer subsidy
The contribution your employer makes to your retirement savings. Once you have received your employer subsidy it becomes part of your retirement savings and remains in your chosen SSRSS scheme until you become entitled to withdraw it.
Gross base salary
Means for: 
- most SSRSS members - the annual before-tax amount of base salary or wages

- a teacher at a school - the sum of the annual before-tax amount of base salary or wages plus permanently allocated salary units 

- a principal of a school - the sum of the annual before-tax amount of base salary (including supplementary component) plus decile funding.

This excludes any fixed-term salary unit and any other allowance or remuneration allocated either through an employer's payroll facility or otherwise.

Participating employer
For SSRSS purposes, refers to those employers in the State sector who have signed agreements with the SSRSS schemes' trustees, to participate as employers in the SSRSS schemes. You can find a list of the participating employers here.
Scheme provider
A company managing one of the three SSRSS schemes - they are AMP and ASB.
School
A State or State-integrated school in New Zealand.
Serious illness
Serious illness as defined in the KiwiSaver scheme rules, which includes (but is not limited to) an illness that puts you at 'serious and imminent risk of death'.
SSRSS scheme
One of the three State Sector Retirement Savings Schemes (AMP, ASB and AMP Aspire) established under agreements between the State Services Commissioner and AMP and ASB.  
Total and permanent disablement
Means your absence from service with your employer for six consecutive months (or such lesser period as the trustee of your SSRSS scheme may determine) by reason of injury or illness of such extent that in the trustee's opinion (after obtaining and considering such medical evidence as it considers appropriate) you are unlikely ever to engage in or work for reward to a significant extent in any occupation or work for which you are reasonably qualified by education, training or experience.

More glossary terms