Is KiwiSaver Compulsory?
No. KiwiSaver membership is voluntary. Enrolment is what happens automatically: start a new job aged 18 to 65 and your employer enrols you without asking, after which you have from day 14 to day 56 to opt out. The compulsory part belongs to your employer: once you are contributing, they must pay 3.5% on top of your salary.
Three questions people mean by this one
The word compulsory does different work depending on who is asking. Separated out, the answers stop contradicting each other.
Must I be in KiwiSaver? No.
You can opt out of an automatic enrolment inside the window, and nobody can enrol you against your will outside one.
Will I be put in without asking? Usually yes.
Automatic enrolment is the default for a new job when you are 18 to 65 and eligible. Deductions start from your first pay, before you have decided anything.
Must my employer contribute? Yes.
3.5% of your gross pay, for employees aged 16 to 64, whenever you are contributing. That is the genuinely compulsory element in the scheme.
When you are automatically enrolled
Every condition has to hold. Miss one and the enrolment does not happen, which does not stop you joining on your own.
- You are starting a new job. Automatic enrolment attaches to starting work with an employer, not to a birthday or a pay rise. An existing employee is never auto-enrolled.
- You are 18 to 65. If you do not tell your employer your age, they must enrol you anyway.
- The job is full time or permanent part time, on a contract longer than 28 days. A shorter contract that gets extended enrols you on day 29.
- You are a New Zealand resident and not already a KiwiSaver member.
Your employer gives you a KS3 information pack, deductions start from your first pay at the rate you choose or the 3.5% default, and Inland Revenue places you with one of the 9 default providers or your employer's chosen scheme. Your first contributions are held for 2 months, 62 days, before they reach the provider.
Enrolled at 18, paid from 16
The two age rules do not match, and the gap is worth money to anyone in it. Automatic enrolment still starts at 18. The compulsory employer contribution now starts at 16, extended to 16 and 17 year olds from 1 April 2026.
| Your age | Automatically enrolled | Employer must contribute |
|---|---|---|
| Under 16 | No | No |
| 16 to 17 | No, you have to opt in | Yes, 3.5% once you are a member |
| 18 to 64 | Yes, on starting a new job | Yes, 3.5% |
| 65 and over | No | No, though an employer may choose to |
The practical consequence: a 16 or 17 year old in their first job is not enrolled and will not be told they are missing anything, yet joining unlocks 3.5% of their gross pay from their employer, plus the government contribution of up to $260.72 a year. Nothing happens until they ask.
Who is never automatically enrolled
Inland Revenue's list runs to 15 situations. Being on it does not make you ineligible. It means the enrolment will not happen on its own, so joining is something you have to do.
- Under 18 or over 65
- A casual agricultural worker
- An election day worker
- A private domestic worker who pays their own PAYE
- Employed on a temporary contract of 28 days or less, though an extension enrols you on day 29
- A casual employee who receives holiday pay with each pay
- On paid parental leave or accident compensation
- Staying on the same payroll when a business is taken over or amalgamated
- Relocating with the same employer, for example between branches
- Receiving only schedular payments
- Not required to have PAYE deducted from salary or wages
- Returning to an employer straight after a secondment from them
- A teacher transferring between state or state integrated schools
- A New Zealand State Services employee working overseas
- A shareholder-employee whose income is not subject to PAYE
To join anyway, ask your employer for a KS2 or contact a scheme provider directly. If you are self-employed, none of this applies to you at all and KiwiSaver when self-employed covers what changes.
Joining by choice is a one-way door
Opting out exists only for people who were automatically enrolled. If you joined by asking your employer, or by signing up with a provider directly, there is no opt-out available to you at any point. Not on day 14, not on day 56, not later.
The only way out after that is a savings suspension, which pauses contributions for 3 to 12 months and stops the employer contribution for the same period. Worth knowing before you opt in rather than after.
What staying in is worth
The question is usually asked by someone deciding whether to opt out, so here is the arithmetic rather than an opinion. On a salary of $60,000, at the 3.5% default rate:
- You contribute $2,100.00 a year. This is the part that comes out of your take-home pay, and the part you get back if you opt out.
- Your employer contributes $2,100.00 a year, of which $1,732.50 reaches the fund after ESCT at 17.5%. This money does not exist if you are not a member.
- The government adds up to $260.72 a year, at 25% of what you put in, if your income is under $180,000.
Both the employee rate and the employer rate rise to 4% on 1 April 2028. What the decision costs your weekly pay is on the take-home pay calculator, which shows the same salary with the KiwiSaver line and without it.
Next
- How to opt out of KiwiSaverThe KS10 and the window, if you have decided
- KiwiSaver contribution ratesLowering your rate instead of leaving
- KiwiSaver employer contributionWhat your employer must add, and when
- KiwiSaver when self-employedNo employer, no automatic enrolment, what changes
- KiwiSaver government contributionUp to $260.72 a year
Common questions
Is KiwiSaver compulsory in New Zealand?
No. Membership is voluntary. What is automatic is the enrolment: start a new job aged 18 to 65 and meet the criteria, and your employer enrols you without asking. You can then opt out between day 14 and day 56. What is genuinely compulsory is the employer contribution.
Can my employer force me to join KiwiSaver?
No, and they cannot stop you either. Automatically enrolling an eligible new employee is an obligation on the employer, not a decision they make about you. The decision to stay is yours, exercised by not opting out inside the 56-day window. An employer cannot opt out on your behalf.
Is KiwiSaver compulsory for employers?
Parts of it are. An employer must automatically enrol eligible new employees, must deduct at the rate you choose or the 3.5% default, and must pay the compulsory employer contribution of 3.5% for employees aged 16 to 64. None of that is optional for them.
Is KiwiSaver compulsory at 16 or 17?
You are not automatically enrolled below 18, so nothing happens on its own. Since 1 April 2026 a 16 or 17 year old who is a member does get the employer contribution of 3.5%. So they have to ask to join, and are then owed the same employer money as everyone else.
Who is not automatically enrolled in KiwiSaver?
A long list, including anyone under 18 or over 65, casual agricultural and election day workers, temporary contracts of 28 days or less, and anyone receiving only schedular payments. The full list is on this page. Not being auto-enrolled does not mean you cannot join, it means you have to ask.
Can I stop KiwiSaver if I am already a member?
Not by opting out, once the window has closed. The route is a savings suspension, which pauses deductions for 3 to 12 months and can be taken again. Your employer's contribution stops for the same period.
Where these figures come from
2026–27 tax year (1 April 2026 – 31 March 2027). Last verified 30 July 2026.
Related
- How to opt out of KiwiSaverThe KS10, and the day 14 to day 56 window
- KiwiSaver employer contributionThe part that genuinely is compulsory
- KiwiSaver contribution rates3.5% default, and every rate above it
- KiwiSaver savings suspensionPausing once the opt-out window has closed
- take-home pay calculatorYour pay with the KiwiSaver line and without it