KiwiSaver and Savings
Te Ara Ahunga Ora was asked to look at aspects of KiwiSaver and private savings as part of the 2022 RRIP. This included engaging the financial services sector to identify non-government initiatives to encourage more people to save.
A working group was established, made up of National Strategy for Financial Capability partners and other private sector representatives, who put together a set of recommendations in response. The Retirement Commissioner supports actioning the recommendations in the 'Encouraging Savings' report.
In relation to KiwiSaver, Te Ara Ahunga Ora was required to look at the impacts on temporary migrants not being able to contribute until their residency status changed. The AUT report found migrants could be missing out on up to $50,000 worth of retirement savings by not being able to access KiwiSaver.
Further research conducted by MJW, revealed 40% of KiwiSaver members have a balance of less than $10,000, with women on average having lower KiwiSaver balances than men across all age groups.
Ongoing improvements to KiwiSaver and additional private saving and education are required to ensure better retirement outcomes for all New Zealanders.
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Media release: Retirement Commission joins forces with financial sector to get New Zealanders saving
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Encouraging Savings: working group recommendations
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Media release: The opportunity cost: why NZ migrants might be missing out on billions in retirement
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KiwiSaver and migrants on temporary visas (AUT)
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Media release: Largest breakdown of KiwiSaver balances
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Policy brief 1: KiwiSaver Balances
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KiwiSaver demographic study, MJW (2022)
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KiwiSaver projections, MJW (2022)
An introduction to KiwiSaver and how it operates, including enrolment and default providers, and policy settings can be found in our recent policy paper.
The following infographic outlines key moments in the history of KiwiSaver from 2007 to 2021.
Te Ara Ahunga Ora recently undertook research on those people who are not currently contributing to their KiwiSaver. It is available here.
KiwiSaver is one form of retirement saving scheme but there are others across the OECD. See how NZ’s retirement income system compares to other countries. Download the paper.
KiwiSaver research from previous RRIPs
A report prepared for the 2019 RRIP provides some insights into KiwiSaver member behaviour as at 2018. Download the report
This commissioned report for the 2019 RRIP looks at ethical investments in KiwiSaver. Download the report
The 2016 RRIP looked at KiwiSaver from a number of perspectives, including surveys, reports and interviews with the public.
Additional information and resources
Monthly and annual reports on KiwiSaver demographics, methods of joining and payments to providers can be found on the IRD website.
The FMA produces a KiwiSaver annual report and other KiwiSaver research that is available on their website.
Other publications
The research listed below does not represent the views of TAAO. Different approaches, methods, and samples were used in these studies and this should be taken into account when interpreting the results.
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Hobbs, B., & Feld, J. (2021). What would happen if people could choose automatically increasing KiwiSaver contributions?. New Zealand Economic Papers, 1-15.
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Gilbert, A., Scott, A., & Xu, S. (2019). Economies of scale: the case of KiwiSaver fees. Pacific Accounting Review.
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Law, D., & Scobie, G. M. (2018). KiwiSaver and the accumulation of net wealth. New Zealand Economic Papers, 52(1), 1-20.
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Townsend, W. (2018). Behavioural economics and retirement savings: improving Kiwisaver. Policy Quarterly, 14(4)