You can contribute to KiwiSaver through your employer, who will deduct either 3%, 4%, 6%, 8% or 10% of your gross salary, depending on which amount you choose. You can also contribute directly by making voluntary payments to your KiwiSaver provider, or through Inland Revenue.
In this section we explain how employees make contributions, ways of making voluntary contributions and about the Saving Suspension:
If you are in paid employment you automatically make contributions through your employer, who deducts 3%, 4%, 6%, 8% or 10% of your pre-tax (gross) salary or wage and sends it to Inland Revenue with your PAYE deductions. Inland Revenue will then transfer the money to your KiwiSaver provider.
Once you are a member of KiwiSaver, you must contribute at least 3% through your employer, unless you have been granted a Savings Suspension by Inland Revenue.
The minimum contribution for KiwiSaver applies even if you are already contributing to a workplace superannuation scheme.
You can also make voluntary contributions as a lump sum or top-up payment to your KiwiSaver account.
Find out more about KiwiSaver for employees.
If you are not an employee, or are an employee who wants to make lump sum or top-up payments, you can make voluntary contributions to your account through your KiwiSaver provider or Inland Revenue. There is no maximum contribution for any method of voluntary payment.
Kiwi Wealth KiwiSaver Scheme members can make voluntary payments by:
If you bank with Kiwibank, ANZ, ASB, BNZ, TSB, Co Operative Bank or Westpac, you can now make voluntary contributions through internet banking. You will need to select Kiwi Wealth KiwiSaver Scheme from the list of 'bill payees' (usually a dropdown list in alphabetical order). You need to include the following details when you make the payment:
Particulars:
KWKS Number eg KWKS12345
Code:
IRD Number eg 000-000-000
Reference:
Initials and Surname eg J Bloggs
If we don't have the correct details, there will be delays in applying contributions to your account, so it's important you include them with your payment.
If you are a Kiwi Wealth KiwiSaver Scheme member and a Kiwibank customer, you can make payments through Kiwibank.
If you joined the Kiwi Wealth KiwiSaver Scheme directly, rather than through Kiwibank, you will need to complete a form to authorise us to share your member account information with Kiwibank. After this you will be able to make voluntary contributions. If you joined the Kiwi Wealth KiwiSaver Scheme through Kiwibank then you don’t need to fill in this form.
To make voluntary contributions through Kiwibank internet banking, you need to use the 'Transfer' option under the 'Pay and transfer' section of the menu. You can also do this for your child, if you are linked to their Kiwi Wealth KiwiSaver Scheme account.
Voluntary contributions ($20 minimum) can also be made by over-the-counter payments at your local Kiwibank.
You can also make voluntary KiwiSaver contributions through Inland Revenue. Their contribution options include electronic bank transfers and cheque payments (no minimum amount required per payment). Find out more on the Inland Revenue website.
If you are an employee, you can apply for a break from making payments to your KiwiSaver account – a Savings Suspension – after you have been contributing to the scheme for 12 months. If you haven’t been in KiwiSaver for 12 months, you can apply for an early Savings Suspension. Applications are made directly to Inland Revenue – find out more on the Inland Revenue website.
A Savings Suspension can last from three months to five years, and there is no limit to how many you can take.
Just bear in mind that when you take a break from contributing to KiwiSaver, your employer contributions will also stop. You will only be eligible to receive Government Contributions during this time if you make voluntary contributions.
If you are not an employee, you do not need to take a Savings Suspension because you don’t have to contribute anything anyway! You can just stop your voluntary contributions.