KiwiSaver employer contributions

How the scheme works for employers

New employees who meet the age and residency tests are automatically enrolled and can opt out between their second and eighth week. For everyone who stays in, the employer deducts the employee's chosen contribution rate through PAYE and adds the compulsory employer contribution on top, which is subject to employer superannuation contribution tax (ESCT). Unlike Australian superannuation, participation is the employee's choice; the employer's obligation follows it.

The rates and where they are heading

The employer minimum sat at 3% of gross pay for years. Under the 2025 Budget changes it rose to 3.5% from 1 April 2026, with a second step to 4% legislated for 1 April 2028, and employee default rates moving in parallel. The planning implication: employer contribution costs are rising on a known schedule, and multi-year workforce budgets should already reflect the 2028 step.

KiwiSaver versus the superannuation guarantee

The Australian superannuation guarantee is compulsory for essentially all employees at 12% of ordinary time earnings, paid whether or not the employee wants it. KiwiSaver is opt-out savings with a lower employer rate, and "total remuneration" arrangements (where the employer contribution is packaged inside the advertised salary) are lawful in New Zealand if the agreement provides for them, a structure Australian law does not permit. For trans-Tasman offers, the same headline salary is therefore not the same cost, or the same take-home.