At what age can I get my retirement money in New Zealand, Australia and the US?

The short version

The detail under each matters, because the ages mean different things in each country.

New Zealand

KiwiSaver: 65. Clause 4 of the KiwiSaver scheme rules says a member "is not permitted to withdraw amounts from their KiwiSaver scheme before the date on which the member reaches the New Zealand superannuation qualification age".

NZ Superannuation: 65. Section 7(1) of the New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Act 2001 entitles a person to it once they "attain the age of 65 years", subject to the residence rules.

Both hang off the same number, so they move together if it ever changes.

Australia

Super: your preservation age if you retire, or 65 regardless. The Australian Taxation Office lists the conditions. You can withdraw your super when you "turn 65 years old, even if you're still working", when you "reach your preservation age and choose to retire", or when you reach your preservation age, keep working, and start a transition to retirement income stream.

Preservation age depends on your date of birth, and for anyone born from 1 July 1964 it is 60:

Age Pension: 67. Services Australia: "Age Pension age is 67 years or older. There are no plans to change this."

The ATO makes a point worth repeating: "Your preservation age is not the same as your pension age." For anyone born from 1 July 1964, that is a gap of seven years.

United States

401(k) and IRA: 59½, and it is a tax line rather than a lock. The IRS explains that amounts withdrawn "before reaching age 59½ are called 'early' or 'premature' distributions", and "individuals must pay an additional 10% early withdrawal tax unless an exception applies." The money is not frozen before then. Taking it costs an extra 10% on top of ordinary income tax unless one of the listed exceptions fits.

Social Security: 62 at the earliest, 67 in full. The Social Security Administration puts full retirement age at "67 for people who are born in 1960 or later", and says you can start "as early as age 62", but with benefits reduced "by as much as 30%" compared with waiting.

What if my money has crossed the Tasman?

It keeps the age of the country it came from.

Australian super moved into KiwiSaver can come out at 60 if you have retired. Clause 4B lets a member withdraw "the amount that was transferred from an Australian complying superannuation scheme" at 60 on retirement. That is the amount transferred, not what it has earned since, which waits until 65 with the rest.

KiwiSaver moved into Australian super waits for New Zealand's age. The ATO says that to reach the New Zealand sourced part of your balance, "you will need to reach the New Zealand age of retirement (currently 65)", even though the Australian part of the same account opens at 60 on retirement.

So one account can have two ages inside it.

What this guide does not tell you

It does not tell you when it is sensible to start drawing on any of these. That depends on everything else you have.

It also leaves alone the early release exceptions in each country, such as hardship, serious illness and a first home; the residence and means tests that decide whether you get a government pension at all; how any of these payments are taxed, particularly across borders; and required minimum distributions in the United States.

These ages are set in law and can change. Each figure here carries the date of the source it came from.