How much goes into your KiwiSaver?

How much comes out of your pay?

You contribute 3.5%, 4%, 6%, 8% or 10% of your before-tax pay, and if you never chose a rate your employer deducts the default of 3.5%. This is a percentage of gross pay, so it comes out before your take-home amount is worked out.

The default rose from 3% to 3.5% on 1 April 2026. Inland Revenue has confirmed a second step: the default rate for both employees and employers rises again to 4% on 1 April 2028.

You can change your rate once every three months, unless your employer agrees to a shorter gap. You do it through your employer, through myIR, or through your KiwiSaver provider.

• Available employee rates: 3.5%, 4%, 6%, 8% or 10% of before-tax pay
• Default if you do not choose: 3.5%
• Previous default before 1 April 2026: 3%
• Scheduled default from 1 April 2028: 4%

How much does your employer put in?

Your employer must contribute at least 3.5% of your gross salary or wages, a rule Inland Revenue calls the compulsory employer contribution. It is on top of your own contribution, not carved out of it, and it rises to 4% on 1 April 2028 alongside the employee default.

The requirement applies to employees aged 16 and over and under 65 who are having KiwiSaver deductions taken from their pay. From 1 April 2026 that includes 16 and 17 year olds, who previously missed out.

One detail catches people out. Employer contributions are taxed before they land, through employer superannuation contribution tax, known as ESCT. So the amount that actually reaches your account is less than a flat 3.5% of your gross pay, and how much less depends on your income.

What is the government contribution, and how do you earn it?

The government adds 25 cents for every dollar you contribute between 1 July and 30 June, up to a maximum of $260.72 a year. To collect the full amount you need to have contributed at least $1,042.86 of your own money inside that period.

Two eligibility rules apply. You must be aged 16 to 65, and you must have an annual taxable income of $180,000 or less. Both of these changed on 1 July 2025: before that date the starting age was 18, there was no income cap, and the maximum was higher. The scheme year runs 1 July to 30 June rather than the tax year, which is a common source of confusion.

Only your own money counts towards the $1,042.86. Inland Revenue is explicit that employer contributions, past government contributions and funds moved from Australian retirement schemes do not count.

• Matched at 25 cents per $1 of your own contributions
• Maximum $260.72 per year
• You must contribute $1,042.86 of your own money to get the maximum
• Contribution year: 1 July to 30 June
• Age 16 to 65, and annual taxable income of $180,000 or less

When does the government contribution arrive?

Your provider claims it for you after 30 June, so there is nothing for you to apply for. Inland Revenue says to check your account after the end of July, and that it may take until the end of August to appear.

If you do not manage the full $1,042.86 you still get 25 cents for every dollar you did contribute. The amount is not all-or-nothing.

It is scaled down if you were only eligible for part of the year, for example if you joined partway through, turned 16 partway through, or turned 65 partway through. In those cases it is worked out on the number of days you were a member and eligible.

Can you contribute if you are self-employed or not working?

Yes. If you are self-employed, between jobs, studying or caring for family, you can pay money in directly rather than through payroll. Inland Revenue accepts contributions paid to them, and you can also pay your KiwiSaver provider directly.

Voluntary payments count towards the $1,042.86 that earns the full government contribution, as long as they are made by 30 June. There is no employer contribution when there is no employer, so for many self-employed people the government contribution is the only outside money in the account.

What is a PIR, and why does getting it wrong cost money?

A PIR is your prescribed investor rate: the tax rate your KiwiSaver provider applies to the investment earnings inside your account. KiwiSaver schemes are usually a portfolio investment entity, or PIE, which is a type of fund that taxes earnings at each member's own rate rather than one rate for everyone.

For New Zealand resident individuals the available rates are 10.5%, 17.5% and 28%. Which one applies is based on your total taxable income in the last two income years, each running 1 April to 31 March, and Inland Revenue has a short tool that works it out from your figures.

Getting it wrong costs money in both directions. If you never gave your provider a PIR, the default rate of 28% is applied, which for a lower earner can be more tax than necessary. If the rate you gave is too low, Inland Revenue says you may have further tax to pay at the end of the year. Providers ask members to check their rate once a year, and it is worth doing after any real change in income.

Can you pause or lower your KiwiSaver contributions?

There are two separate options, and Inland Revenue runs both. A temporary rate reduction lets you drop to 3% for a period of three months up to a year, after which your rate resets to the default and you can apply again. A savings break stops your contributions altogether for a time, and how long you have been a member affects whether you can take one.

Both are applications to Inland Revenue rather than something you arrange with your employer alone. Whether either suits your situation is a question for you, and a financial mentor or licensed adviser can talk it through if a decision is hard.

Why is your balance not just the total of the contributions?

Because the money is invested, not banked. Your balance moves with the value of what your fund holds, so it can be above or below the total that has been paid in, and it changes on days when nobody contributed anything.

Three other things sit between the contributions and the balance: fees charged by your provider, tax on the investment earnings at your PIR, and timing. Inland Revenue notes it can take up to a month for a deduction from your pay to show in your account.