KiwiSaver membership tops 1.75m

Total KiwiSaver membership topped the 1.75 million mark in June despite a downturn in the sign-up rate, according to KiwiSaver provider Tower Investments.

Monday, July 18th 2011, 12:53PM

Chief executive Sam Stubbs said that while the membership milestone was passed, "growth rates for KiwiSaver sign-ups fell after the Government’s Budget announcements of late May."

"Anecdotal evidence indicated that public perceptions of KiwiSaver had turned somewhat negative since the Budget set out reduced Government subsidies, increased taxation, and larger employer and employee contribution minimums to be phased in for the scheme over 2012-13."

Stubbs also said talk of potential compulsion had demotivated some people from joining the scheme "who believe they might be forced to belong later anyway."

He said June was also a rocky month for investment markets with fears Greece's debt problems could spark another global financial crisis, though those fears abated late in the month.

"Total net monthly growth in new membership dropped from above 1.5% in May to under 1.4% in June, with opt-in via employer and opt-in via provider leading the trend down.

"The only original KiwiSaver join method to show an increased rate of sign ups was automatically enrolled by employer, which lifted from a little over 1.4% in May to not far short of 1.5% in June."

However, Stubbs said it was too early to tell if the June downturn in new KiwiSaver sign-up rates was a blip or "a significant turning point in public appetite for the scheme."

"If June's monthly membership grow rate continues for the rest of the year, there should be about 1.9 million KiwiSaver's by the end of 2011," he said.

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