Provision of annual reports

Background

Section 122 of the KiwiSaver Act 2006 (which incorporates section 17 of the Superannuation Schemes Act 1989) requires the trustees of a KiwiSaver scheme to provide an annual report to all KiwiSaver members in their scheme. If an email address is provided, the annual report can be delivered in an electronic format through an email attachment.

However, the annual report requirement could not be satisfied by providing a hyperlink to the report in an email, as a hyperlink provides a "point of access" to the information rather than providing the information itself.

Key feature

Section 122 of the KiwiSaver Act 2006 has been amended to allow scheme providers to satisfy the requirements to provide an annual report by sending a hyperlink in an email which links to the annual report, to any members who have agreed to this in writing.

Application date

The new rules apply from the date of Royal assent, being 7 September 2010.