Here are 5 things Nicola Willis said about KiwiSaver

Wednesday, 24 June 2026

Christopher Luxon announced a raft of changes to Kiwiwsaver at the party's annual conference.

National has promised to make KiwiSaver changes if re-elected in November, making it mandatory for all workers, and lifting the combined contribution rates to 12%.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis joined Stuff for a live chat with Glenn McConnell, who asked your questions, and this is what she said:

1. What would happen with 'total remuneration packages'?

National would look to phase out the use of total remuneration, Willis said.

Total remuneration was where employers included their contribution to an employee’s KiwiSaver out of monies paid as salary or wages, rather than being in addition to.

Existing employment arrangements would be in place as they would have been struck under the old policies, so what happens in the transition?

“National proposes to work through those issues in Government in consultation with employees and employers,” Willis said.

National has promised to make KiwiSaver changes if re-elected in November. The party’s Deputy Leader Nicola Willis answered questions about the policy, submitted by Stuff readers.

2. What would happen for self-employed people and sole traders?

“We would only require them to make the equivalent of employee contributions - so 3% rising to 6% - rather than 7% rising to 12% as will be the case where employees and employers are sharing the contributions,” Willis said.

3. Would National change how KiwiSaver is taxed?

“We're not proposing changes to the tax treatment of your savings,” she said.

National would keep making KiwiSaver contributions in the form of the annual Government contribution - $260 a year for workers earning less than $180k.

4. Is this the right time to be increasing KiwiSaver contributions?

“This is something we've seriously reflected on,” Willis said.

This year the Government increased default KiwiSaver contributions up from the old 3% to 3.5%.

“We also gave people the option of opting out if they felt that was too steep.

“We've been really heartened by the fact that 99.5% of KiwiSaver contributors have opted to stick to the higher contribution rate,” she said.

5. Will KiwiSaver become the next generation's replacement for NZ Super?

“We see KiwiSaver as additional to that [NZ Super], ensuring Kiwis have more financial security and better choices in retirement.”

Willis said National believed in universal superannuation, which provided a base level of support for all Kiwis in retirement, but acknowledged that the cost of superannuation is “rising really rapidly”.

“National will bring a policy on this to the election campaign, that gives everyone certainty and time to adjust.”

Read the whole chat with Nicola Willis answering your questions about National’s KiwiSaver policy here.