Everything you need to know about New Zealand's workplace savings scheme, and how to make it work harder for you.
KiwiSaver is a voluntary workplace savings scheme designed to help New Zealanders save for retirement. Contributions come from your salary, your employer, and the government, and are invested in a fund managed by your chosen KiwiSaver provider.
Since launching in 2007, KiwiSaver has grown to hold over $100 billion for more than 3.2 million members. Despite its scale, many members are in the wrong fund or contributing at the minimum rate, potentially missing out on significant long-term growth.
Budget 2025 changed several key KiwiSaver settings. Minimum contribution rates rose to 3.5% (previously 3%) on 1 April 2026, and will rise again to 4% in April 2028. The government contribution was also reduced. It's worth checking your settings are up to date.
From 1 April 2026, the minimum employee and employer contribution rate is 3.5% of your gross salary. You can choose to contribute more: 4%, 6%, 8%, or 10%. A further increase to 4% is scheduled for 1 April 2028.
Almost entirely in cash and fixed interest. Lowest volatility, lowest expected long-term returns. Suited to those who need their money very soon, such as imminent retirement or a home withdrawal within the next year or two.
Mostly fixed interest with some growth assets. Limited volatility. Suited to shorter time horizons (3–5 years) or those with a low risk tolerance.
Roughly split between income and growth assets. Moderate volatility. Suits most 5–10 year horizons and medium risk tolerance.
Predominantly in growth assets. Higher short-term volatility but historically stronger long-term performance. Suited to 10+ year horizons and moderate-to-high risk comfort.
Almost entirely in growth assets. Highest volatility and highest expected long-run returns. Best for 15+ year horizons and those comfortable with significant short-term fluctuations.
The right fund depends mainly on two things: how soon you'll need the money, and how comfortable you are with your balance moving up and down along the way. Someone buying a first home in two years has very different needs to someone in their 30s saving for retirement. Our fund selector gives a general indication, and Andrew can talk you through a proper KiwiSaver fund review if you'd like advice based on your full situation.
You can switch KiwiSaver providers at any time, and it doesn't cost anything to do so. In practice, you join your new provider and they handle the transfer of your existing balance for you. The harder part is knowing whether switching is actually the right move, and which provider and fund type suits you best. That's where independent KiwiSaver advice is genuinely useful.
It depends what you compare it against. A Growth fund and a Conservative fund will never produce similar returns, so performance needs to be judged against fund type, not just against other KiwiSaver balances you might hear about. A KiwiSaver review looks at your specific fund, its performance against similar funds, and the fees, to see whether you're getting a fair deal.
If you've never reviewed your fund type, or your life circumstances have changed since you set it up, it's worth checking. Many people are in a default fund they were placed into automatically, which may not suit their timeline or comfort with risk at all. A quick conversation is usually enough to know whether a change makes sense.
A Growth fund holds mostly shares and property, so it moves more with the market but has historically delivered stronger long-term returns. A Balanced fund splits more evenly between growth assets and fixed interest, smoothing out some of the ups and downs in exchange for typically lower long-term growth. The right choice usually comes down to your time horizon: the longer you have, the more a Growth fund tends to suit.
Conservative funds are built to protect what you've already saved, with minimal exposure to market swings. Growth funds accept more short-term movement in exchange for stronger results over time. If you're decades from needing the money, a Growth fund usually makes more sense; if you need it within the next few years, Conservative is usually the safer choice.
The minimum is 3.5% of your gross salary (rising to 4% from April 2028), matched by your employer. Contributing more, where you can afford to, generally leads to a noticeably larger balance at retirement thanks to compounding. Our KiwiSaver calculator lets you see the difference different contribution rates make to your own numbers.
Independent KiwiSaver advice doesn't cost you anything directly. Providers pay a commission to advisers like Andrew, so there's no fee out of your pocket for a KiwiSaver consultation. Given that the right fund choice can be worth tens of thousands of dollars over a working life, a free KiwiSaver review is generally well worth the half hour it takes.