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KiwiSaver Employer Contribution

The 3.5% your employer adds to your KiwiSaver account, who is entitled to it, and how much of it survives ESCT. Current for the 2026–27 tax year.

Your employer must contribute at least 3.5% of your gross pay to KiwiSaver, on top of your salary, from age 16 until you turn 65. ESCT comes off that amount first, so what reaches your account is between 2.14% and 3.13% of gross.

The rate, and what it is worked out on

The compulsory employer contribution is 3.5% of gross pay. It rose from 3% on 1 April 2026 and rises again to 4% on 1 April 2028. It is a floor rather than a fixed figure. An employment agreement can promise more, and some do, but no agreement can promise less.

Gross pay here means the same thing it means for your own deduction. It includes bonuses, commission, overtime alongside salary and wages. It excludes redundancy payments, accommodation your employer provides or pays for, employee share scheme benefits. A month with a bonus in it therefore carries a larger employer contribution as well as a larger deduction from you.

The contribution is not paid straight into your fund by your employer. It goes to Inland Revenue with their PAYE payment and is passed on to your scheme, which is why it can take a few weeks to appear in your balance.

What actually reaches your account

The 3.5% is the amount your employer pays. It is not the amount you receive. Employer superannuation contribution tax is charged on it at one of five rates, and the rate is set by what you earned in the previous tax year rather than by what you earn now.

ESCT on the employer contribution
ESCT rate threshold amountESCT rate
$1 – $18,72010.5%
$18,721 – $64,20017.5%
$64,201 – $93,72030%
$93,721 – $216,00033%
$216,001 and over39%

The effective rate each band leaves on a 3.5% contribution, and what $100 of employer contribution actually delivers, are set out on ESCT rates 2026–27.

Example. $70,000 a year, minimum contribution

  1. 1.Your gross pay for the year$70,000
  2. 2.Employer contribution at 3.5%Paid on top of the salary, not out of it+ $2,450.00
  3. 3.ESCT rate threshold amountGross pay plus the employer contribution$72,450.00
  4. 4.ESCT at 30%− $735.00
  5. Reaches your KiwiSaver account$1,715.00

$1,715.00 is 2.45% of gross pay. The headline 3.5% and the 2.45% that arrives are both true statements about the same contribution, and only one of them shows up in your balance. ESCT rates 2026–27.

Who the contribution is payable for

  • Contributing members aged 16 to under 65. Sixteen and seventeen year olds became eligible on 1 April 2026. Before that date the employer contribution started at 18.
  • Every employer separately. If you have two jobs, both employers owe the contribution on the pay they give you. Unlike your tax code, it is not shared between jobs.
  • Members of complying superannuation funds too. The obligation follows the scheme, not the KiwiSaver brand.

When the contribution stops

  • You turn 65. The obligation ends. Your own deduction can carry on, and so can a voluntary employer contribution, which still carries ESCT.
  • You go on a savings suspension. Between 3 and 12 months with nothing coming out of your pay, nothing coming from your employer, and no ESCT.
  • You opt out. Within the window after an automatic enrolment, everything stops and your own deductions are refunded. how to opt out of KiwiSaver.
  • You move to a total remuneration package. The contribution does not stop, but it stops being extra. It comes out of the salary figure you were quoted.

The rate rises again on 1 April 2028

The compulsory employer contribution goes from 3.5% to 4%, and the default employee rate moves to 4% at the same time. On $70,000 that takes the employer contribution from $2,450.00 to $2,800.00 a year before ESCT.

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Common questions

What is the KiwiSaver employer contribution rate?

3.5% of your gross pay from 1 April 2026, rising to 4% on 1 April 2028. It is a minimum, so an employment agreement can promise more, and it is paid on top of your salary rather than out of it.

Is the employer contribution on top of my salary or part of it?

On top, unless your employment agreement says otherwise. The compulsory contribution has to be paid in addition to your gross pay, but you and your employer can agree a total remuneration package where it sits inside the figure you were quoted.

At what age does the employer contribution stop?

At 65. The compulsory contribution runs from age 16 until the day you turn 65. After that your own deductions can continue and your employer can keep contributing voluntarily, but nothing is compulsory, and ESCT still applies to whatever they do contribute.

Does my employer contribute more if I contribute more?

Not as a rule. The compulsory contribution is a flat 3.5% of gross pay whatever rate you are on. Some employers offer to match higher rates as a term of employment, but that is an offer from that employer rather than a requirement.

Do I get an employer contribution on a second job?

Yes. Each employer owes the compulsory contribution on the gross pay they pay you. Your tax code and your student loan threshold are worked out across all your jobs together. The employer contribution is not. It is worked out job by job.

Where these figures come from

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

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