KiwiSaver providers hope for political accord
KiwiSaver providers are hoping this is the year that politicians can work together on a better future for the retirement savings scheme. It is shaping up to be an election issue.
Tuesday, January 20th 2026, 5:14PM
National has promised to increase contribution rates to 6% for both employees and employers if it is returned to government. In his State of the Nation speech in Auckland yesterday he named KiwiSaver as one of National's key election planks going into this year's election.
NZ First has proposed a 10% contribution rate and to make the scheme compulsory, offset with tax cuts.
Pie Funds chief executive Ana-Marie Lockyer said she wanted to see genuine cross-party collaboration this year and a shared commitment to long-term success for KiwiSaver.
“That includes agreement to support a build on of the staged increases already signalled in party policies, giving New Zealanders confidence that the system will remain stable, predictable and focused on improving retirement outcomes rather than short-term politics.”
At ANZ, managing director of funds management Fiona Mackenzie had a similar hope.
“New Zealanders benefit most when KiwiSaver settings are stable and focused on the long term,” she said.
“A cross party commitment to a gradual, well signalled increase in contributions would give people confidence that the system is evolving in their best interests, without being exposed to political cycles. Once that pathway is agreed, the real strength comes from staying the course and allowing compounding investment returns to work for all New Zealanders.
“And this isn’t just about what government can do. It’s also about what each of us - providers, employers, and KiwiSaver members - can do to help more New Zealanders build the kind of life they want after 65. For example, at ANZ we continue making KiwiSaver contributions for employees while they’re on parental leave so that ‘carer gaps’ don’t become ‘retirement gaps’. Actions like this, alongside good long term policy settings, can make a meaningful difference - particularly for women - and help ensure more New Zealanders are set up to thrive in retirement.”
Dean Anderson, founder of Kernel, said politicians needed to stop listening to the “legacy end of town”. “Politicians need to stop stuffing it up and start engaging with innovators like Kernel who are actually driving the industry forward.”
He said more should be done to help the roughly one million New Zealanders who were enrolled in the scheme but not regularly contributing. “KiwiSaver is a major life investment for most of us; it’s time we gave it the focus and consideration it deserves.”
Koura founder Rupert Carlyon said he would like to see real incentives for people who saved in KiwiSaver. That could be paid for by means-testing NZ Super, he said.
“Basically moving very quickly to an Australian system. The beauty about means testing is it does not need a long transition period, it can be done on day one which then means that we can realise cost savings immediately.”
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