KiwiSaver Contribution Rates 2026–27
Your KiwiSaver contribution rate is one of 5 figures: 3.5%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 10% of gross pay. 3.5% is the default from 1 April 2026. Your employer must add at least 3.5% on top of your gross pay. 3% is available only under an approved temporary rate reduction.
What are the KiwiSaver contribution rates for 2026–27?
The KiwiSaver contribution rates for 2026–27 are 3.5%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 10% of gross pay for you, and a compulsory 3.5% minimum from your employer. 3.5% is the default from 1 April 2026, and it applies to you if you have never told your employer which rate you want.
The choice among those 5 figures is yours, and it takes one form to change. You give your employer a KS2 form, and without your employer agreeing you can do that once every 3 months.
All 5 rates assume you are already a member. Membership is voluntary and enrolment often is not, which is what is KiwiSaver compulsory separates out. Reversing an automatic enrolment takes one form inside one window, both set out in how to opt out of KiwiSaver.
How much comes out of your pay at each rate?
Your deduction at each rate is a straight percentage of gross pay, taken every payday. On $70,000 a year the default 3.5% takes $2,450.00 and 10% takes $7,000.00, a gap of $4,550.00 a year in take-home pay.
| Your rate | You put in | Employer, after ESCT | Into your fund |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5%default | $2,450.00 | $1,715.00 | $4,165.00 |
| 4% | $2,800.00 | $1,715.00 | $4,515.00 |
| 6% | $4,200.00 | $1,715.00 | $5,915.00 |
| 8% | $5,600.00 | $1,715.00 | $7,315.00 |
| 10% | $7,000.00 | $1,715.00 | $8,715.00 |
Read the third column carefully, because it is the part most explainers get wrong. The employer column does not move. Your employer's obligation is a flat 3.5% of your gross pay whatever rate you pick, so going from 3.5% to 10% costs you $4,550.00 a year of take-home pay and brings in nothing extra from your employer.
Because the contribution comes out of pay rather than sitting on top of it, a higher rate also lowers the income anyone assessing you can count, which is set out in gross vs net pay. The money is also locked away until you turn 65 or buy your first home, which is the real trade-off behind every decision on this page.
Why can you not simply choose 3% any more?
3% stopped being a selectable rate on 1 April 2026, so the only route to it is an approved temporary rate reduction. The word doing the work in that phrase is temporary.
3% used to be the default and is still what most published guidance describes. It is no longer one of the 5 rates you can select. Three rules govern the reduction instead.
- It is granted for a fixed period. The period runs between 3 and 12 months.
- It expires. To stay on 3% you have to apply again each year, and an application that is not renewed lapses back to 3.5%.
- It is an application, not a selection. It does not appear on the KS2 form alongside the other 5 rates.
If a page tells you that 3% is the minimum KiwiSaver rate, it is describing the rules as they stood before 1 April 2026.
How much does your employer add at each rate?
Your employer adds the same amount at every rate, a compulsory 3.5% of your gross pay, paid on top of your salary rather than out of it. On $70,000 that is $2,450.00 whether you contribute 3.5% or 10%.
The contribution is owed for every contributing member aged 16 up to the day they turn 65. Members aged 16 and 17 became eligible on 1 April 2026.
That headline figure is not what arrives. ESCT at 30% takes $735.00 of the $2,450.00, so $1,715.00 reaches your fund. That is 2.45% of your gross pay, not 3.5%.
Two exceptions are worth knowing. On a total remuneration package the contribution comes out of your stated salary instead of sitting on top of it, and during a savings suspension the employer contribution stops with your deduction. KiwiSaver employer contribution.
What counts as gross pay for a KiwiSaver deduction?
Gross pay for a KiwiSaver deduction is salary and wages plus bonuses, commission and overtime, and the same 4 items set your employer's 3.5%. Only 3 payments sit outside it, which is why a month with a bonus in it shows a KiwiSaver line far larger than usual.
What counts?
- Salary and wages
- Bonuses
- Commission
- Overtime
What does not count?
- Redundancy payments
- Accommodation your employer provides or pays for
- Employee share scheme benefits
Which rate collects the full government contribution?
Every employee rate collects the full $260.72, provided your own contributions reach $1,042.86 between 1 July and 30 June. On the default 3.5% that takes $29,796 of gross pay across the year, and at 10% it takes $10,429.
The third contributor is the government, which adds 25% of what you put in yourself, up to $260.72 a year. The government contribution year runs 1 July to 30 June rather than with the tax year, so the date to have contributed by is 30 June, not 31 March 2027.
- Members aged 16 and over receive it, from 1 July 2025.
- Nothing is paid above the income cap. Taxable income over $180,000 collects $0.00.
- Only your own contributions count towards it. Your employer's contribution does not, and neither does last year's government contribution.
The KiwiSaver government contribution works out what each contribution rate collects on your own salary, and what a part year pays instead of the full $260.72.
What changed for KiwiSaver on 1 April 2026?
KiwiSaver changed in four ways on 1 April 2026, and the largest is that the default employee rate and the compulsory employer contribution both moved from 3% to 3.5%. The two rates are set to move together again on 1 April 2028.
- The default employee rate rose to 3.5%. Anyone who had never chosen a rate moved across without filling in anything.
- The compulsory employer contribution rose to 3.5%. It is still paid on top of gross pay, and it still does not track the rate you pick.
- The employer contribution reached 16 and 17 year olds. Before that date it started at 18, so a 16 year old member was owed nothing.
- 3% stopped being selectable. It survives only as an approved temporary rate reduction of 3 to 12 months.
The government contribution changed earlier, on 1 July 2025, when the match rate dropped to 25% of what you put in and a $180,000 income cap was added.
What happens to KiwiSaver rates on 1 April 2028?
KiwiSaver rates rise again on 1 April 2028, when the default employee rate and the compulsory employer contribution both move from 3.5% to 4%. The two figures move together, on the same day.
If you are on the default rate you do not need to do anything. Your deduction changes automatically, and so does your employer's contribution. On $70,000 a year that lifts your own contribution from $2,450.00 to $2,800.00.
Does a higher KiwiSaver rate lower your tax?
No. A higher KiwiSaver rate lowers your take-home pay and changes your PAYE by nothing, because the deduction is calculated on gross pay but comes out of money that has already been taxed. Moving from 3.5% to 10% on $70,000 costs $4,550.00 a year of take-home pay and $0.00 of tax.
Two other taxes get confused with your contribution rate, and neither is deducted from you. ESCTis charged on your employer's contribution before it reaches your account, at one of five rates set by what you earned last year. It does not change your take-home pay. The five ESCT rates.
Your prescribed investor rate is a different tax again, charged on what your fund earns once the money is invested. You give it to your scheme provider rather than to your employer, and it has nothing to do with your contribution rate. Getting it wrong is corrected at the end of the tax year. Is KiwiSaver taxed separates all three, with the full rate table for each.
What are the most common KiwiSaver rate mistakes?
The most common KiwiSaver rate mistake is expecting your employer to match the rate you pick. Four more follow, and each one carries a figure.
- Reading the employer rate as a match. The obligation is a flat 3.5% of gross pay. Going from 3.5% to 10% on $70,000 costs you $4,550.00 and brings in $0.00 extra from your employer.
- Treating 3% as still selectable. It reaches you only through an approved temporary rate reduction of 3 to 12 months, reapplied for every year.
- Counting the employer contribution as what lands in your fund. ESCT comes off first, so on $70,000 the $2,450.00 arrives as $1,715.00, which is 2.45% of gross pay.
- Expecting a higher rate to cut your tax bill. The deduction comes out of pay that PAYE has already been taken from, so your tax does not move by a cent.
- Counting your employer's contribution towards the government contribution. Only your own money counts, so the $1,042.86 has to come from your deduction alone.
Which related calculators and guides help with KiwiSaver?
- KiwiSaver employer contribution calculatorYour contribution, theirs, and ESCT, per payday
- KiwiSaver employer contributionThe 3.5% minimum, the age rules, and what stops it
- is KiwiSaver taxedThe three taxes told apart, and the one that never applies
- employer superannuation contribution taxThe tax on your employer's contribution
- ESCT rates 2026–27All five bands, with the effective rate on each
- salary sacrifice and total remunerationWhen the employer contribution is inside your salary
- change your KiwiSaver contribution rateThe 3-month rule, and what each rate does to your pay
- KiwiSaver government contributionThe part that pays you for saving, and what it takes
- KiwiSaver savings suspensionPausing contributions, and what it costs
- how to opt out of KiwiSaverThe window, the form, and what you give up
- KiwiSaver when you are self-employedWhat happens when there is no employer and no PAYE
Common questions
What are the KiwiSaver contribution rates for 2026–27?
You can contribute 3.5%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 10% of your gross pay. 3.5% is the default from 1 April 2026 and applies if you never pick a rate. Your employer must add at least 3.5% on top, and ESCT comes off that before it reaches your account.
Can I still contribute 3% to KiwiSaver?
Not by simply choosing it. 3% is not one of the selectable rates any more. It is available only under an approved temporary rate reduction, which runs for between 3 and 12 months and has to be reapplied for each year to continue.
Does my employer have to match my contribution rate?
No. The obligation is a flat 3.5% minimum of your gross pay. It does not rise when you move from 3.5% to 10%, and it does not fall if you contribute less. Matching is something an individual employer can offer, not something the rules require.
Does contributing more to KiwiSaver reduce my tax?
No. Your deduction is calculated on gross pay but taken from money that has already had PAYE taken off. Raising your rate lowers your take-home pay by exactly what you contribute and changes your PAYE by nothing. salary sacrifice and total remuneration.
Do bonuses and overtime count for KiwiSaver?
Yes.Bonuses, commission and overtime are all part of the gross pay that both your deduction and your employer's contribution are worked out on. Redundancy payments, employer-provided accommodation and employee share scheme benefits are not.
When do KiwiSaver rates change again?
On 1 April 2028. Both the default employee rate and the compulsory employer contribution rise from 3.5% to 4%. Nothing else in the rate structure is scheduled to change.
Written by Nathan Kerr, payroll writer and editor2026–27 rates. Last reviewed 25 August 2026.
Where these figures come from
- IRD. Employer contributions to KiwiSaver
- IRD. KiwiSaver changes
- IRD. Employer superannuation contribution tax
2026–27 tax year (1 April 2026 – 31 March 2027). Last verified 25 August 2026.
Related
- KiwiSaver employer contribution calculatorWhat your employer adds, net of ESCT, per payday
- KiwiSaver employer contributionThe compulsory 3.5%, and who gets it
- ESCT rates 2026–27The tax on your employer's contribution
- is KiwiSaver compulsoryAutomatic enrolment, and what is not optional
- how to opt out of KiwiSaverThe window, the form, and what it costs
- KiwiSaver when you are self-employedNo employer, no ESCT, no deduction at source
- how to read a New Zealand payslipWhere the KiwiSaver line sits