KiwiSaver: The Small Change Coming in April

You get a quiet pay rise for your future savings on 1 April 2026, because the default KiwiSaver contribution rate rises from 3% to 3.5% for both you and your employer, and the increase runs through payroll automatically for most people.

If your budget feels tight, you still have a lever, because IRD lets you apply from 1 February 2026 for a temporary rate reduction that keeps your employee contribution at 3% for a set period, and your employer may choose to match that lower rate during the same period.

This shift looks small on paper, yet it adds up faster than most people expect once you stack years together, because the change equals an extra 0.5% from you and an extra 0.5% from your employer, which turns into a bigger yearly deposit stream before investment returns even start doing their job.

On a $70,000 salary, that 0.5% equals about $350 a year from you, and roughly the same again from your employer before tax on the employer side, so the total yearly lift lands around $700 going into KiwiSaver.

There is one more detail worth knowing if you employ younger staff or you have teenagers working in the family, because from 1 April 2026 employer contributions also start applying to eligible 16 and 17 year olds who contribute from wages.

Use April as your trigger to check your fund

Most people focus on the extra 0.5% and miss the bigger lever, which is whether your money sits in the right fund type for your timeline, because contribution tweaks matter far less than decades of compounding in the wrong settings.

If you are in your 30s or 40s, you already own your first home, and you plan to leave KiwiSaver alone for retirement, you often sit in the zone where growth funds fit the time horizon better than conservative funds, since growth funds hold more growth assets like shares and property and aim for higher long term returns with more ups and downs along the way.

Sorted has put a number on how big the gap may get, estimating that on average someone may end up with about $135,000 more at age 65 by switching from a conservative fund to a growth fund, which makes a $50,000 difference a realistic outcome in many real world scenarios when you have enough time left.

A simple check you can run today

Start with your use date, because the right fund follows your timeline.

If you plan to use KiwiSaver within the next few years, conservative or balanced often matches that shorter horizon better.
If you plan to leave KiwiSaver untouched for decades, growth often lines up better with that longer horizon, as long as you accept the ups and downs on the way.

Your next step

Treat the April increase as a prompt to review three things in one sitting: your contribution rate, your fund type, and your fees, then lock in a simple setup that matches your retirement timeline rather than your current mood.

If you want a fast KiwiSaver check, Invicta Financial will review your fund type and contribution settings and map the simplest next step for your situation.

General information only. This does not take account of your personal circumstances.

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