Budget boost addresses gender imbalance on KiwiSaver

In the Budget, the government acknowledges that taking parental leave is one of the main reasons women fall behind, saying it will spend $19.6 million total operating to match KiwiSaver ‘employer’ contributions to people taking paid parental leave.

Last year a report by the NZ Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) commissioned by Kiwi Wealth (now part of Fisher Funds) found a twenty per cent gender gap in the average KiwiSaver balance of men and women.

The report attributed the disadvantage to women taking time off work for childcare, as well as the gender pay equity gap and low confidence of women in making KiwiSaver investment decisions. The estimated financial impact of a one year break in contributions was put at $15,100.

The NZIER report backed up a previous one by the Retirement Commission which also found that on average men had twenty per cent more money in KiwiSaver schemes.