KiwiSaver Contribution Rates 2026–27

Q: What are the KiwiSaver contribution rates for 2026–27?

Employees can contribute 3.5%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 10% of gross pay. 3.5% is the default from 1 April 2026 and applies if you never pick a rate. Employers must contribute at least 3.5% on top of your gross pay, and employer superannuation contribution tax comes off that before it reaches your account.

Q: Can I still contribute 3% to KiwiSaver?

Not by simply choosing it. 3% is no longer one of the selectable rates. 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.

Q: Does my employer have to match my contribution rate?

No. The employer 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.

Q: Does contributing more to KiwiSaver reduce my tax?

No. Your KiwiSaver deduction is calculated on gross pay but taken from pay that has already had PAYE deducted. Raising your rate lowers your take-home pay by exactly the amount you contribute, and changes your PAYE by nothing.

Q: 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% on that date. Nothing else in the rate structure is scheduled to change.

What you put in, what your employer must add, and what is left after tax. Current for the 2026–27 tax year (1 April 2026 – 31 March 2027).

From 1 April 2026 the default KiwiSaver employee rate is 3.5%. You can also choose 4%, 6%, 8% or 10%. Your employer must add at least 3.5% on top of your gross pay. A 3% rate is available only under an approved temporary rate reduction.

The five employee rates

Your rate is a percentage of gross pay, and it is your choice among five figures. If you have never told your employer which one you want, 3.5% applies. You can change it by giving your employer a KS2 form, and without your employer agreeing you can do that once every 3 months.

Contributions on a gross salary of $70,000 a year, at each employee rate. The employer column is the compulsory minimum after ESCT, and it does not change when you change your own rate.
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. It 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.

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.

The rate you cannot simply pick

3% used to be the default and is still what most published guidance describes. It is no longer one of the five rates you can select. The only route to it is an approved temporary rate reduction, and the word doing the work in that phrase is temporary.

It is granted for a fixed period of 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 simply lapses back to 3.5%.
It is an application, not a selection. It does not appear on the KS2 form alongside the other 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.

What your employer must contribute

The compulsory employer contribution is 3.5% of your gross pay, paid on top of your salary rather than out of it, for every contributing member aged 16 up to the day they turn 65. Sixteen and seventeen year olds became eligible on 1 April 2026.

That headline figure is not what arrives. 3.5% of $70,000 is $2,450.00, ESCT at 30% takes $735.00 of it, and $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

Both your deduction and your employer's contribution are worked out on the same definition of gross pay, which is wider than most people expect. It is why a month with a bonus in it shows a KiwiSaver line far larger than usual.

Counts

Salary and wages
Bonuses
Commission
Overtime

Does not count

Redundancy payments
Accommodation your employer provides or pays for
Employee share scheme benefits

The government contribution

The third contributor is the government, which adds 25% of what you put in yourself, up to $260.72 a year. Contributing $1,042.88 across the government contribution year, which runs 1 July to 30 June rather than with the tax year, collects the full amount.

It is paid to members aged 16 and over, from 1 July 2025.
It is nil if your taxable income is above $180,000.
Only your own contributions count towards it. Your employer's contribution does not, and neither does last year's government contribution.

What changes on 1 April 2028

Both figures move together. The default employee rate rises from 3.5% to 4%, and the compulsory employer contribution rises from 3.5% to 4% 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.

Two taxes people confuse with your rate

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 is not deducted from you and 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.

Every KiwiSaver question, in detail

KiwiSaver employer contributionThe 3.5% minimum, the age rules, and what stops it
KiwiSaver employer contribution calculatorYour contribution, theirs, and ESCT, per payday
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
salary sacrifice and total remunerationWhen the employer contribution comes out of your salary

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.

Where these figures come from

2026–27 tax year (1 April 2026 – 31 March 2027). Last verified 30 July 2026.

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
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