The Government has introduced several KiwiSaver changes which will come into effect on 1 July 2025, 1 April 2026 and 1 April 2028.
1 July 2025 changes
Government KiwiSaver contributions
The government contribution will drop from 50 cents to 25 cents for each dollar you contribute to KiwiSaver each year, dropping the maximum government contribution from $521.43 to $260.72.
If you’re aged 16 or 17, you’ll qualify for government contributions, so long as you meet other eligibility requirements.
If you earn more than $180,000 of taxable income a year, you won’t get the government contribution.
There’ll be no change to government contributions for the year ending 30 June 2025. These will be paid in July and August 2025 at the current government contribution rate.
1 April 2026 changes
Default employer and employee contribution rates
The default KiwiSaver contribution rate will rise to 3.5% (from 3%) for you and your employer.
Temporary rate reduction
You can apply for a temporary rate reduction from 1 February 2026 if you want to carry on contributing at 3% from 1 April 2026. This could be because you can’t afford the rate increase or want to save in other ways.
You’ll be able to apply for a temporary rate reduction for a 3 month (92 days) to 12 month period. You can apply for the rate reduction as many times as you like.
Your employer can choose to match your temporary rate reduction. Once you move from the temporary rate to a higher rate, we’ll notify your employer.
More information about how you can apply for a temporary rate reduction will be available in early 2026.
Contributions for 16 and 17-year-olds
If you’re aged 16 or 17 you’ll qualify for employer KiwiSaver contributions from 1 April 2026, so long as you meet other eligibility requirements.
If you contribute to KiwiSaver from your wages, your employer will need to start making contributions. Before 1 April 2026, your employer only needs to contribute for employees aged 18 to 65.
1 April 2028 changes
The default KiwiSaver contribution rate will rise again to 4% (from 3.5%) for you and your employer.