How to Opt Out of KiwiSaver
You can opt out of KiwiSaver between day 14 and day 56 after you start a new job, using form KS10. Before day 14 and after day 56 the answer is no. If you were automatically enrolled and missed the window, a savings suspension of 3 to 12 months is the alternative.
The window, and why it has two ends
The clock starts on your first day in the job that enrolled you, and it runs for 56 days. Both ends of the window are real limits, and the early one surprises people more than the late one.
Days 1 to 13. Too early
An opt-out request lodged in the first 13 days is not accepted. Deductions come out of your pay in the meantime, and they are refunded if you go on to opt out.
Days 14 to 56. The window
Hand your employer a KS10, or send it to Inland Revenue yourself. This is the only period in which opting out is a decision you get to make on your own.
Day 57 onwards. Closed
You are a member. A late opt-out is possible only on limited grounds and only if Inland Revenue accepts it. Otherwise the route out is a savings suspension.
How to opt out, step by step
- Check that you were automatically enrolled. Opting out exists only for automatic enrolment, which happens when you start a new job and are eligible. If you asked to join, whether by contacting a provider or by giving your employer a KS2, there is no opt-out available to you.
- Wait until day 14. Counted from your first day of work with that employer.
- Complete the KS10 opt-out request. Your employer should have given you one in your KiwiSaver information pack. It is also available from Inland Revenue, and it can be completed in myIR.
- Give it to your employer, or send it to Inland Revenue. Either is valid. Giving it to your employer is usually faster, because they can stop the deduction in the next pay run rather than waiting for Inland Revenue to tell them.
- Check the next payslip and then the one after it. The KiwiSaver line should be gone. how to read a New Zealand payslip sets out where that line sits.
What happens to the money
- Your deductions come back. If your employer still holds them, they refund you through payroll. If they have already been paid to Inland Revenue, Inland Revenue refunds them to you.
- Your employer's contributions do not come back to you. They return to your employer. You never had a claim on them, because the contribution is conditional on your membership.
- The ESCT stops with the contribution. There is no contribution to tax, so nothing further is remitted.
- Your PAYE and your take-home pay change. Only in the sense that the KiwiSaver deduction stops. Your PAYE itself was never affected by the contribution, so your income tax and ACC earners' levy are exactly the same as before.
What the decision is worth in dollars
On a salary of $70,000, opting out stops a compulsory employer contribution of $2,450.00 a year, of which $1,715.00 survives ESCT at 30%. It also gives up the government contribution of up to $260.72 a year. Together that is about $1,975.72 a year of money that was never coming out of your pay.
What you gain is your own contribution back in your hand. At the default 3.5% rate on $70,000, that is $2,450.00 a year of take-home pay. The arithmetic is the same for everyone. What differs is whether the cash matters more to you now than $1,975.72 of matched money does later.
Opting out against a savings suspension
These two get confused constantly, and they are not alternatives to each other in most situations. Only one of them is available to you at any given moment.
| What differs | Opting out | Savings suspension |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | People automatically enrolled in a new job | Any existing member |
| When | Day 14 to day 56 after starting | After 12 months of membership, or earlier in financial hardship |
| How you apply | Form KS10, through your employer or IRD | In myIR, or an online form |
| How long it lasts | Permanent for that enrolment | 3 to 12 months, minimum 92 days |
| Money already in the fund | Your deductions are refunded to you | Stays invested |
| Employer contribution | Stops, and returns to your employer | Stops for the duration |
| What happens at the end | Nothing. You can join again later if you choose | Deductions restart automatically |
A savings suspension is the one that stops the employer contribution without refunding anything. That is the trade: your pay goes up by your own contribution, and the 3.5% from your employer stops for the same period.
Late opt-outs, and when they are accepted
Inland Revenue can accept an opt-out after day 56 in limited circumstances. The common thread is that the deadline was missed because of something other than your own decision.
- Your employer did not give you the KiwiSaver information pack they were required to give you.
- Inland Revenue did not send you the information it was required to send.
- Your scheme provider did not send you an investment statement.
- Events outside your control stopped you meeting the deadline.
- You were enrolled when you should not have been, for example when you were not eligible in the first place.
A late opt-out is a decision Inland Revenue makes, not a form that takes effect on its own. Changing your mind is not one of the grounds.
Next
- KiwiSaver contribution ratesLowering your rate instead of leaving altogether
- KiwiSaver employer contributionThe money the decision turns on
- KiwiSaver employer contribution calculatorThe same arithmetic on your own salary
- KiwiSaver savings suspensionPausing instead, once the opt-out window has closed
- take-home pay calculatorYour pay with the KiwiSaver line and without it
Common questions
How do I opt out of KiwiSaver?
Complete a KS10 opt-out request and give it to your employer, or send it to Inland Revenue. You can do this between day 14 and day 56 after starting the job that enrolled you. Your employer stops the deduction, and what has already come out is refunded to you.
Can I opt out of KiwiSaver at any time?
No. The window runs from day 14 to day 56 after you start a new job, and it exists only for people who were automatically enrolled. If you joined by choice there is no opt-out at all, and the only way to stop contributing is a savings suspension.
What happens to the money already deducted if I opt out?
Your own deductions come back. If your employer is still holding them they refund you in a pay run; if they have already gone to Inland Revenue, Inland Revenue refunds them. Anything your employer contributed goes back to your employer rather than to you.
Can I opt out of KiwiSaver after 56 days?
Only in limited circumstances, and Inland Revenue decides. A late opt-out can be accepted where you were not given the KiwiSaver information you were entitled to, or where events outside your control stopped you meeting the deadline. Otherwise the answer is a savings suspension instead.
What does opting out of KiwiSaver cost me?
On $70,000 a year it gives up an employer contribution worth $1,715.00 after ESCT, plus up to $260.72 of government contribution. That is roughly $1,975.72 a year of money that was never going to come out of your pay.
Can I rejoin KiwiSaver after opting out?
Yes. Opting out ends that enrolment, not your eligibility. You can join later by contacting a scheme provider directly, or by giving your employer a KS2 asking for deductions to start.
Where these figures come from
2026–27 tax year (1 April 2026 – 31 March 2027). Last verified 30 July 2026.
Related
- KiwiSaver contribution ratesWhat each contribution rate costs your take-home pay
- KiwiSaver employer contributionThe money that stops when you opt out
- KiwiSaver employer contribution calculatorWhat you would be giving up, on your own salary
- employer superannuation contribution taxThe tax that stops with the contribution
- take-home pay calculatorYour pay with and without a KiwiSaver deduction