Compare today's 3.5% employee and employer KiwiSaver rate with the enacted 4% rate from April 2028, plus clearly hypothetical higher-rate scenarios.
Compare your 2026 KiwiSaver contributions with the enacted 4% employee and matching employer default for participating members from 1 April 2028. You can also test hypothetical 5% and 6% rates and a fixed total-remuneration package. The calculator assumes you participate in the selected comparison scenario: KiwiSaver membership is still voluntary, and National's proposed compulsory membership from July 2028 is an election pledge, not law. Enter your age: modelled deposits stop at 65, though the existing balance keeps growing at your selected return. Figures use today's salary and 2026–27 tax settings; they are scenarios, not a forecast of legislation or fund performance.
Inland Revenue says the default employee and matching employer rate became 3.5% on 1 April 2026 and is already scheduled to become 4% on 1 April 2028 for participating members. The existing opt-out and savings-suspension rules remain. Separately, National says that if re-elected it would require workers to participate from 1 July 2028 and lift each side's default rate gradually to 6% by 2032. The party pledge is not enacted. See IRD's KiwiSaver changes and National's policy announcement.
Employment New Zealand says an employee and employer may agree that the employer KiwiSaver cost is included within a total-pay package. The employer contribution must still be paid on top of the agreed gross salary and must not pull wages below the minimum wage. There is no enacted general ban on these clauses. For a simple $80,000 package containing only salary and a 3.5% gross employer payment, salary is $80,000 / 1.035, or about $77,294.69; the employer payment is about $2,705.31 before ESCT. Check your agreement because a real package may contain other items. Employment New Zealand explains the rule.
Employee KiwiSaver deductions come from pay after PAYE and ACC. Employer contributions are reduced by a single ESCT rate based on an assessment of prior-year salary or wages plus gross employer superannuation contributions, or an estimate for a short employment history. The calculator holds today's salary steady as a proxy and uses the 2026–27 ESCT bands of $18,720, $64,200, $93,720 and $216,000; it does not forecast later tax changes. It adds 25 cents per eligible member dollar up to $260.72 only when modelled salary is at most $180,000, assuming the other age, residence and tax conditions are met. Verify those conditions with IRD's current rules and its 2026–27 payroll specification.
The horizon projection applies each selected annual contribution while your entered age is below 65, then compounds the balance without new deposits. It does not stage the real 2026-to-2028 transition, a possible future election outcome, salary growth, investment fees or tax on fund returns. A 0% current selection represents a non-contributing employee and no standard employer contribution, not every possible savings-suspension contract. Voluntary deposits after 65 are also outside this model. Compare the first-year take-home and fund-inflow arithmetic before treating a large projected balance gap as personally achievable.
At $75,000 salary, the 3.5% default moves $2,625 of Maia's pay into KiwiSaver. An employer owing the minimum adds $2,625 gross, but the 30% ESCT in this illustrative assessment leaves $1,837.50 in the fund. If Maia meets the full-year government-contribution conditions, another $260.72 arrives. That is $4,723.22 in deposits before any investment gain or loss.
The enacted 4% rate for participating members from April 2028 changes the same arithmetic to $3,000 from pay plus $2,100 employer after ESCT plus $260.72 government, or $5,360.72. The 5% column is a hypothetical sensitivity choice, not a current or enacted rate. IRD lists the enacted dates and its payroll specification supplies the ESCT bands.
With a $15,000 starting balance, the same $75,000 salary every year, year-end deposits and a constant 6% return over 30 years, the current-rate model grows to about $459,562 and a constant 4% model to $509,961. The result follows directly from an annual $637.50 deposit difference. It does not stage the actual change in April 2028, model salary growth, deduct investment fees or tax fund earnings. A 6% return is an input assumption, not a balanced-fund promise.
National has pledged compulsory membership from July 2028 if re-elected and 6% contributions on each side by 2032. Those pledges have not passed into law. The 4% + 4% default is already enacted for members; the selected scenario assumes participation even if today's input is 0%. Check National's published pledge against IRD's current rules before reading the chart as a legal timeline.
Employment New Zealand says a fixed total-pay agreement can include the employer's KiwiSaver cost, but the contribution must still be paid on top of agreed gross salary and cannot take pay below the minimum wage. The calculator divides a simple package by one plus the employer rate to estimate that salary component. It does not assert a ban on these agreements or that every employer absorbs the extra cost.
A 0% current input models no employee or standard employer contribution. It cannot model every savings-suspension agreement: an employer can continue to contribute under some terms, and a member can make voluntary deposits toward the annual government contribution. The tool stops modelled deposits at age 65 but cannot check residency or other government-contribution conditions. Use it to test the size of a choice, then confirm your actual payslip, ESCT assessment and provider terms.
The calculator compares today's 3.5% employee and employer default with a selected rate. The 4% + 4% default from 1 April 2028 is enacted for participating members; 5% + 5% is hypothetical and National's 6% + 6% by 2032 remains an election pledge. Membership itself is voluntary under current law.
B₀ is the starting KiwiSaver balance, r is an assumed annual return and Cₜ is that year's employee deposit plus employer deposit after ESCT plus any modelled government contribution. Deposits stop when the entered age reaches 65; the balance keeps earning the assumed return. Each annual deposit is added after that year's growth. Salary, rate and return are otherwise held constant; future tax changes, fees and tax on fund earnings are not modelled.
Maia is 35, earns $75,000 salary, is a contributing eligible member, and has a $15,000 starting balance. At today's 3.5% + 3.5%, her annual employee deposit is $2,625 and employer deposit is $1,837.50 after 30% ESCT; with the full $260.72 government contribution, $4,723.22 reaches the fund.
At the enacted April 2028 default of 4% + 4%, assuming Maia remains a member and salary and 2026–27 tax settings stay unchanged, her employee deposit is $3,000 and employer deposit is $2,100 after ESCT. With the same government contribution, annual fund inflow is $5,360.72.
Under standard salary packaging, the 4% rate lowers Maia's annual take-home by $375 relative to 3.5%. The annual fund inflow rises by $637.50. ESCT applies to employer money before it enters the fund, so the increase is smaller than the gross contribution difference.
At a fixed 6% assumed return for 30 years with year-end deposits and no fees or tax on fund earnings, the model gives about $459,562 under constant 3.5% + 3.5% and $509,961 under constant 4% + 4%. The $50,399 gap is a sensitivity result; the real 4% rate starts in 2028, not at the beginning of a 30-year career today.
Review the glossary of terms used in the calculation model below. Click on highlighted links to read more in-depth definitions in our financial glossary:
| Parameter | Definition & Context |
|---|---|
| Annual salary or fixed total package | If employer contributions are added, enter agreed gross salary. If they are included in a fixed all-in package, enter that package; the calculator solves for the salary component. |
| Current age | Age 16 to 64 at the start of this model. Contributions in the scenario stop when you reach 65; the existing balance still grows during later modelled years. |
These links include relevant regulators and page-specific references. Worked examples and projections may also use stated assumptions:
