Calculator: What National’s compulsory KiwiSaver could mean for you and your child
Sunday, 21 June 2026
ANALYSIS: The National Party has announced an intention to make KiwiSaver compulsory if re-elected - and increase the contribution rates to 6%.
The party is also keen to see every child given a KiwiSaver at birth with $1500 contributed by the Government.
The change will be dramatic for some people, particularly the self-employed or those who have stopped contributing to the scheme, and more minor for others already putting in a relatively large amount.
The Post has created two calculators to estimate the impact of these policies, available at the bottom of this story.
One looks at the impact of the policy on the retirement savings of current earners and the other on those yet to be born. Before the calculator are a series of examples of how retirement savings might change from the plan.
For the median earner at 35
A median wage earner making $72,000 and already paying into KiwiSaver at the default rate at age 35 would see a boost in his or her overall retirement savings from National’s policy.
That is because National has also promised to ratchet up the default rates to 6% by 2032, meaning both the earner and their employer contribute more over time.
Let’s assume this earner just emptied out their KiwiSaver to buy a first home at 35, leaving them with the minimum of $1000. They contribute at the default rate (currently 3.5%) and will continue to do so. Let’s also assume, somewhat implausibly, that they never get a pay rise again.
Under current settings (including the legislated increase to 4%) this earner would save around $418,000 by age 65, assuming investment returns of 5% a year. If National’s policy was enacted they would contribute more to the scheme over time, as would their employer, leaving them with $568,000. Naturally this would increase if we assume they are in an aggressive fund making more money - with $204,000 extra if we assume returns of 7%.
But this calculation does not take into account the opportunity cost of those savings. The worker may have preferred to use that extra cash from the default rate increases to pay their mortgage down faster, or invest elsewhere. They may have been able to negotiate a higher pay rise if their employer was not also having to increase their default rate to 6%.
It also doesn’t take into account inflation - $568,000 in 2056 will not buy what it does now.
The party is also forcing anyone who retires after 65 to contribute, and their employer to too. These gains to overall retirement savings add up fast - working for two more years will mean $645,000 at retirement.
For the paused contributor at 50
Around 900,000 people are in the KiwiSaver scheme and are of working age but not currently contributing. Many of them will be overseas or not working but many will also be working but not contributing right now - around 111,000 are on a formal savings holiday.
Let’s look at a 50-year-old who has stopped contributing as he or she is now making a bit less money. They already had $30,000 in their KiwiSaver but have now stopped contributing as they are making just $53,000 a year, a little bit over the minimum wage.
Under current law, this earner is not required to contribute to KiwiSaver, and neither is their employer. Their $30,000 sits in the scheme and grows — but that's it. At a 5% annual return, it would reach around $65,000 by the time they turn 65.
But National's policy does not just raise rates, it also brings in compulsory contributions for all employees from July 2028. That means this earner would be required to rejoin the scheme at 52, contributing at 4%, with their employer matching that. From 2032, both would be contributing at 6%.
That changes the picture dramatically. Under National's policy, this earner would retire with around $179,000 — $114,000 more than if they had stayed opted out under current law. At a 7% return the gap is larger.
Unless of course this earner decides to opt out thanks to hardship, which will still be an option.
For the self-employed at 40
Let’s take a look at someone who is self-employed and not contributing at the moment - a big portion of Kiwis.
We can assume this person did at one point have a KiwiSaver but like our median earner cleaned it out for a first home, leaving the minimum $1000, which has appreciated slowly over time to $1300.
They are 40, making $85,000 in self-employed income, and not currently paying in.
Under National’s plan they would need to start paying in - first at 4% but eventually at 6%. Unlike other workers they would get no matching contribution from their employer.
If we again assume 5% returns and no pay rises they can retire with their KiwiSaver at 65 with $225,377 - about $221,000 more than the tiny amount that would have been in there had they not contributed any more.
Again we are missing opportunity costs here - with that money now unavailable for investing back into their business.
For a 23-year-old just starting out
Consider a 23-year-old starting their career on $50,000 a year with no KiwiSaver savings behind them. Assuming pay rises of 2% a year, under current law they would contribute at 3.5% until 2028 and 4% from then on, with their employer matching that.
By the time they retire at 65, assuming 5% annual returns, they would have around $794,000.
Under National's plan, with rates rising to 6% for both worker and employer by 2032, that same person would retire with roughly $1.1 million — around $316,000 more. At 7% annual returns, the gap widens to nearly $500,000. Of course this doesn’t take into account the high likelihood that this earner would withdraw their KiwiSaver to make a first home withdrawal at some point.
What about a baby?
National’s policy also included a promise to give every baby a KiwiSaver account with a $1500 head start.
Assuming no further contributions from parents, this would sit at around $3600 by the time they turn 18, if earning 5% a year - not a huge amount.
But if we then assume they work from age 22 to 30 making $50,000 a year, the differences do add up. Under current rules and starting from $0 at age 22 this worker would have about $43,000 in their KiwiSaver by age 30. Under the new rules with the baby boost and boosted contributions they would have $69,000.
The baby boost is not a very large part of this - the default contribution rate hike makes a far larger difference.
But you can use our calculator below to see how adding some money to the baby boost might help a child’s eventual KiwiSaver.