Alarm bells as record numbers of people make KiwiSaver hardship withdrawals

Inland Revenue data shows September was a record month, with more than five-and-a-half thousand withdrawing a total 48.9 million-dollars.

Public Trust - which approves such payouts - is seeing triple the volume of applications compared to previous years.

General Manager David Callanan says records are being broken every month.

He says it's very concerning, with a person or whanau struggling to make ends meet behind every application.