Two new employee contribution rates were added to Kiwisaver on 1 April 2019: 6% and 10% have been added as options for Kiwisaver members to choose, making the full line-up 3%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10%.
Historically the bulk of Kiwisaver members have elected to save only 3% or 4% of their earnings. Only a relatively small percentage of Kiwisavers have elected a contribution rate of 8% as the jump up from 4% is considered by many to be substantial.
The Government have now offered 6% as as option for those who wish to contribute more to their Kiwisaver fund without having to double their contributions.
A 10% contribution rate is also now available for those members wanting to boost their Kiwisaver funds via the mechanism of automatic deductions from their regular pay.
It should be noted that it has always been possible to contribute more than 8% of earnings to Kiwisaver, though previously that would have entailed making one or more manual voluntary payments in addition to the automatic kiwisaver salary contributions.
Example Kiwisaver contributions at 4%, 6% and 10%
For a person earning $70,000 per annum| Contribution | @ 4% | @ 6% | @ 10% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salary | $70,000 | $70,000 | $70,000 |
| PAYE & ACC | $14,993 | $14,993 | $14,993 |
| Kiwisaver | $2,800 | $4,200 | $7,000 |
| Net pay | $52,207 | $50,807 | $48,007 |
| Take home pay (/week) | $1,004 | $977 | $923 |