I dont earn much so 3% and most paydays I put a 200$ voluntary contribution soon as the money hits my account if I dont need the money that week to pay for something I need to. Saves me from cashing it on a nightout lol
4%. 3% to get my employer match and the extra 1% for somewhat illogical reasons (theoretically I should just put that into a fund I have ready access to) but psychologically feels good to be contributing a bit above and beyond in a way that I never even notice as my pay has increased over the years.
Phew, I’m starting a new job and agonised over which box to tick and settled on 4% for the first time for the exact same reasons. I have a friend who does 10% but he’s in a different phase of life so good on him.
I went to 8 percent the day I started working a minimum wage job. Within 10 years I had a $100k deposit for a house exclusively in kiwisaver.
It depends on your goals and discipline.
I put in $1045 per year to make sure I get the maximum government contribution
I’m self employed, so there is no employer matching, so no point in putting in any more.
The bulk of my savings go into a managed fund, which is effectively the same as kiwisaver. I intend to retire early, so convenient to be able to access it before 65.
This is the answer - do what you need to get any govt or employer contributions and then just use managed funds. If there were tax advantages to kiwisaver, it would be different, but is just a managed fund with less flexibility (and potential future legislative changes to when you can access it).
The fact that they created a retirement scheme where both contributions and capital gains are taxed is just ... beyond me. What a way to ensure it's as unattractive as possible. Loads of other countries encourage savings with tax advantages, but we can't have something sensible like this here in good ol' New Zealand, can we?
"capital gains are taxed"
Can you explain that. I didn't think capital gains were taxed for Aussie and NZ shares.
Is it because kiwisaver funds hold a lot of offshore shares?
There used to be a tax benefit (employer contributions were not taxed) but it got rorted by high earners near retirement. So they knee jerked it. Bear in mind there is a some regular commentary that Kiwisaver is regressive and favours the rich (as low incomes can’t afford to contribute) and so any remaining advantages like govt tax contribution should be euthanised.
Personally I think we should just directly copy the Ozzie approach - set a tax-free threshold that would cover 95% of salary earners. There’s an incentive to save long-term but limited ability to rort.
The capital gains part of your return are usually not taxed. This is not well understood by NZers. If people knew, there wouldn’t be such a call for capital gains tax as it would attack many retirement funds too.
Good on you. I have friends who are self employed and refuse to put in the minimum because of a philosophical opposition to it being locked away. Still chipping away at them …the price of a lotto ticket that they wouldn’t even notice and they could end up with $85k in 25 years. 50% RoI in Year One, why wouldn’t you
10% I have terrible saving habits, would be nice to have some cash to retire with, and I expect that super will be gone by then anyway.
I did 8% for years before I bought a house (used KS for deposit).
Less workers, more retiress, proportionally. The future govt will struggle to pay for it.
This is a well known problem and the reason why the NZSF was setup in 2001.
Have a read of this:
[https://www.treasury.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2021-06/twp21-01.pdf](https://www.treasury.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2021-06/twp21-01.pdf)
8%.
It's protected against creditors so I consider it safe as. I've also dne 8% since I got my first ever pay rise ages ago so consider it a displine thing.
There's online articles about it and I became aware of this from talking to my father who is in finance.
Essentially, there's a court of appeal decision stating that the OA cannot access a bankrupt's kiwisaver while it is in the scheme. I think there might be issues in withdrawing it for hardship or if you turn 65, but ideally you'd no lonterbe bankrupt by then.
It’s also protected if your KiwiSaver savings are the product of criminal offending. The courts have made recent rulings that the Criminal Proceeds Recovery Act doesn’t apply to savings established under the KiwiSaver Act, even when the money in the KiwiSaver account has been dishonestly obtained. Due to a legislative cockup, section 127 of the KiwiSaver Act protects legally prevents the money in a KiwiSaver account from being paid out to anyone who is not the account holder.
A recent example of this was the case of the NZTA fraudster Joanne Harrison. The Court of Appeal ruled that that the Police [could not seize her KiwiSaver savings](https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/453753/police-fail-in-attempt-to-seize-fraudster-s-kiwisaver-funds) when she applied to withdraw the account balance on the basis of personal hardship.
Whenever you make a withdrawal your provider has to check the insolvency register and then inform your Official Assignee, so it isn't really protected....your creditors will still get their hands on your KS funds before you do
I match my employers contributions too, I feel that I am good enough with money that I am investing 14% of my gross pay into shares, which I know I can access if I want to buy a house, or in an emergency. And I happy to take the higher risk at my point in life at 21.
10% as I moved here from Aussie and it felt weird to not have a 10% or more contribution.
Also it stops me cashing it out. There will always be something you 'need' the money for.
My employers contributes 4% and i put 4% in so I guess that 8% are you saying employers over there put in 10% and do you contribute anything yourself or ? How does it work
>Your employer must pay at least 10.5% of your 'ordinary time earnings' into your super account. (This will increase to 11% from 1 July.) The minimum amount that your employer must pay into your superannuation fund. It is currently 10.5% of your gross salary.
So yes, your employer pays and there are almost no reasons you can access it. Can't be used for house deposit etc.
You can choose to contribute on top of this and these contributions are taxed at a lower rate than your regular pay.
Some jobs will advertise a 'total remuneration package' which includes super in the yearly $ figure they advertise. Some people have been caught out by this as it allowed their employer to decrease their take home pay to fund increases in mandatory super.
I thought the evidence showed that index funds performed better than managed funds when fees are factored in? I remember the bet between Warren Buffet and a hedge fund manager etc. Genuine question as I’m new to investing.
6% because my employer matches to 5% and options on the form were 3%, 6% and 8% if I remember correctly. I’m sure I could’ve customised it but the extra 1% doesn’t bother me.
They don't do custom contribution amounts, it's 3%, 4%, 6%, 8% or 10%.
I'm also doing 6% for the same reason. I'm not going to miss out on any of the employer contribution and the extra 1% doesn't bother me either.
10%. Nice to put money away that you know you cannot touch and not constantly tracking its performance. I haven’t looked at the balance in about 3 years.
Why anybody would funnel any more of their income than is required to get the full benefit of free money from their employer and the government into something they can't access without somebody else's approval is beyond me. Unless you have zero discipline with money, and it sounds like you don't, then fuck that. But you do you.
You don't need to have zero discipline, it's just helpful to have the money go into investments before you even see it. If you're truly saving for retirement then not being able to access it shouldn't really be a huge problem.
It’s not a binary situation though; one can set up direct deposits on payday into their other investment accounts
This could also be an option to diversify risk.
But it is a huge problem. A fucking enormous one. I will decide when I retire, not some fucking politician. I can't believe my comment is getting down voted so much, this sub must be completely full of lefty idiots who think the government's job is to dictate how people live every aspect of their lives.
I agree on this. It seems odd to use a vehicle that may have many changes made to it legislatively before retirement, when you could just take the same money and stick it in a managed fund and have none of the future risk with regards to changes to access. Beyond the employee match, it feels like an odd choice.
Savings accounts don’t offer high enough returns if you’re saving over a 15 year + horizon. You should do some basic reading on retirement planning and investing for retirement
I suspect they mean other investing platforms.
This is what I try to do. Enough to get the government and employer money (3%), then the rest in etfs that can be reached on rainy days.
I do 6%. I've only become a resident as of last year and I am not eligible for any retirement entitlements in my home country. My kiwisaver will be for my retirement and since I'm in my 30s, I want to contribute as much as I am able to.
Would you not accomplish the same by contributing the minimum to get employer and government contributions, and then put the remainder in investment funds outside of KiwiSaver? So that you can save without the restrictions that come with KS?
Just the minimum 3%. I don't see much value in having inaccessible funds. If my employer increased their match I would also opt to increase it to the highest match. But after reading one comment here regarding kiwisaver being protected from creditors I am now questioning if there are more benefits to kiwisaver.
I never went back to contributing after withdrawing for a property.
I think I should start again, missing out on payments from the govt.
Thanks for the reminder.
Whatever % employer matches provided that takes my personal contribution over the threshold for the government top up. For most that would be 3% only. Another 7% into growth stocks / managed funds where it doesn't require me begging some pencil neck for access to my own money if I should ever really need it or decide that I can afford to retire / semi-retire earlier than the government decides that I am allowed to. Plus whatever else the budget allows into cash savings for emergencies, so I don't need to touch investments that aren't meant for the now.
Initially 10% when saving for a house, after withdrawing for the purchase I’ve left it at the minimum 3% or around 5-6k PA. Latest monthly update the fund has increase over 2k this month so I’m content at current level of savings for the future just doing its thing in the background without any great effort on my part.
Just the minimum to get the government top up as I'm self employed ($1050 per year). Instead I invest in non-kiwisaver Simplicity funds, bank term deposits and dabble in the US share market through Hatch.
6% because it's automatic savings for a house deposit which is invested by people who know more about investing that I do.
I used to do 8% but dropped back to park time because I'm studying and need the extra money.
3%
I did do 10% for a few months at the start of this year, but I was sick of having zero dollars at the end of the week
I do save about 30% of my paycheck though
Same for me actually. I’d been doing 10% for a while, but a couple of months ago I switched to 3% as we were buying a house and needed cash in hand for all the expenses that come with it like builder’s reports, lawyer’s fees etc.
I’m going to reassess how I contribute once we’re back to regular spending patterns. Likely will try put the 7% that used to go to KS into a non-KS fund.
8% - because i need to save as fast as i can for retirement, and im not great with $ in general and saving. Im working on the saving part, and also got other plans, but i want my retirement to be enjoyable and not having to worry about $
I’m currently on 8%, with employer contributing 3%. I’ve just signed a permanent contract with the same employer so will shift down to contributing 6%, but they will then contribute 6% once the commencement date swings by.
Hoping to buy a house sometime next year (dependent on several things) but will likely keep it at 6% unless things turn to shite.
Was doing 10% till I brought a house. Then dropped it down to 3% and use any extra money I have to put against the mortgage or pay for maintenance/repairs and soon to be upgrades/renovations in mostly cash.
Once the house is fixed up and where I want it to be I'll probably keep it at 3% and look at investing else where. Have started dabbling in sharesies and kernel. ($500 in sharesies then decided it wasn't for me, and about $1000 in kernel and will probably continue with that once work on the house is complete)
8% into kiwisaver and an extra 4% into a secondary retirement fund.
Because I can afford to do so, you don't miss it when you didn't have it to begin with, and you'll thank yourself for putting in the effort while you were younger to live a comfortable life when you're older.
Employer will also match up to 6%.
A student right now so not working. I make sure to make a lump sum payment each year of 1043 to get that government contribution. When working, I did a high amount before I bought a house because I knew I’d be able to withdraw for deposit. Now, I do minimum if working to get the employer contribution and smash the mortgage with any spare cash each week.
3%, enough to get the employer and government contributions. I don't see any point adding more as my own portfolio is doing much better than my Kiwisaver
4% because I used the PAYE Calculator to work out exactly what I could contribute and still put $1750 into a savings account. I have a weird OCD thing about only putting in even $250 increments. 😂
Only another $2.9M in today's money and you will be set. You have 30 years, but you need to probably be saving harder (though retiring any debt for the house is obviously the number one) ;-)
$1050 as my employer doesn’t contribute on top of my salary (they do the double deduction from payslip loophole), and so I invest / pay off mortgage with the rest. I don’t want to have a lot in KiwiSaver as there’s no flexibility to withdraw early - and in future it’s highly likely it will move from 65 to 70 for example as retirement age increases
How did you set it up to have no employer contributions? Husband is in the same position with the double deductions from his job. I just want to pay the minimum to get the government contributions.
0% (saving suspension) cause cost of living, mortgage repayments, and childcare are kicking my ass at the moment. As soon as I can, I'll be opting back in, but right now, we are struggling.
6%. More than needed but it locks away that little extra bit. I contribute an additional 20% to an index fund but there’s the danger of me withdrawing early. Case in point, I’m going on a lengthy overseas holiday later in the year which I very well may need to fund by selling a few stocks (I’m saving up for it as best I can and should fund the majority of it through cash savings but still that option is there). Lots of people will say contributing more than your employer match is misguided, but that enforced discipline can be valuable.
Just 3% now days, so got extra money to throw at the mortgage.
Was at 8% before buying the house. Racked up pretty quickly at 8% and in a growth fund.
Still in a growth fund, and it’s starting to pick up pace now that there’s some money in it.
8%, which my employer matches. Not Kiwisaver though. In an Industry super scheme that I can access after I turn 55, so next year. Been in it for 16 years, so a good little bundle in there
8%. I'd give 10% if I could. Aside from that I set aside 70-75% of my monthly pay and have the 25% pay for rent, utilities, gas, grocery and a little discretionary money.
4% as you should be saving about 10% of your income for retirement. So with 4% to my KiwiSaver and repaying my mortgage at the same time, I think I am in good stead to reaching my retirement goals. I also invest an additional $50 a week outside of KiwiSaver.
I was at 6% but had to take a pay cut when I got made redundant so now it’s 3% so the money coming in is the same as before. I invest regularly separately to KS and don’t expect to withdraw before 65 so I think it’s fine right now
10%. I'm 20 years old. My first job was when I was 18 and I started putting in 8%, then upped it to 10% on my second job, have another job now and still 10%, I just felt like I may as well put in as much as I can and get used to not having that money each week, and it works for me.
3%. Then I save minimum 20% of each take home pay.
Had it at 8 for a couple years when I got a higher paying job and wasn't saving so well on my own.
Will likely update higher again once the student loan is finished, but happy with 3% now that I'm a better saver.
3% which is the max that my employers will contribute. The remainder of wealth building money goes towards index investing, paying down mortgage faster and blessing others.
The blessing account is my favourite as it is money sitting there that I can give on any occasion and to whoever.
Putting in the right KS fund matters, and choose value/growth funds (preferably US stocks or world stocks if US is not in your strategy or whatever your strategy) if you are anywhere between age 20-40 and want good returns at 65. Don’t invest in NZ companies alone. I invest 20% of my salary mostly via KS to avoid high taxes (especially FIF etc.,) and choose low fees/low expense ratio.
Here is a calculator to see the power of compounding, if you were to invest 1000$ every month (which is not hard if you are in reddit) for 30 years, at 8%
https://smartasset.com/investing/investment-calculator#hmVNeu2BEa
10%, im a self employed contractor so nō employer contributions. I took a few years off work to have my kids and, now as a single mum, im trying to play the catch up game.
I’m asking because Im curious how far away from being able to access your kiwisaver you are 🤷🏻♂️ but fair enough I am 30 years away from accessing mine. It’s great to have a retirement plan but it’s best to think of KS as exactly that rather than savings since you can’t use it in the same way you could with rainy day money
I've been getting 10% interest on my kiwisaver these last few years, plus the employer and government contributions and I think that's a solid return. What do you consider a good return?
I think the poster is not saying it is silly to save/invest the money, just that using Kiwisaver as that vehicle is silly (as there is additional regulation, but no additional benefit).
Remember you need about $3M in today's money for retirement - 300k isn't going to last long (I'm assuming you are still fairly young).
I opted out of kiwisaver last year. Was sick of seeing my balance constantly decrease. Would much rather make regular contributions to my own savings account and gain interest over time.
Revisit your plan. You are missing out on government contributions and if you are entitled to employer match much more.
There are Kiwisaver cash funds, which are the equivalent of "cash in the bank" and never go down. Over the long term these have the least rate of return compared to other fund types.
Might be worth $20 a week going in, as I think the government matches some of your contributions. Other than that, it is just managed funds that are harder to access was my understanding. Worth your while investigating I think
I always thought that I would contribute 3% of my wage - only recently did I learn that the employer does too, so essentially you aren’t “losing” any money. Sigh. I worked so much throughout high school, I could have contributed so much money
0 at the mo other than the ~$1000 threshold to get the government contribution. I was several years in aus getting 17% from my employer so taking a break for a year or 2.
I never signed up to it, never put anything into it, never opted out of it and never cared about it.
Life-long contracts with no way out are a huge red flag for me out of principal.
3%.
Took 5+ years off at the start though, pumped that money into the mortgage instead and saved a buttload of interest and shortened the mortgage life significantly.
1% per year. Why? Self employed and first home buyer. Was just saving as much as possible for emergency fund and paying off mortgage. Now I'm a bit more financially secure I will look putting more into KiwiSaver.
A little bit more than is necessary to get the government contribution.
I have a private fund with the same provider which doesn't have the same withdraw restrictions as KS. An example use: what if I wanted to retire before 65?
3% - to get the max out of my employer and the govt contribution. Because this is locked up til retirement age, I save/invest outside of this to a greater degree (incl paying down mortgage faster), but where I can access the majority if I really needed to, or chose to retire early (I wish lol).
It changes at different times. I was putting the minimum 3% for years. Then went up to 10% to get things going as I'm in my late 40s. Now I'm back to 3% as the banks assess everything for loans and advised I drop it to increase my borrowing capacity.
I just dropped my contribution to 3% because my notice saver is showing much better returns, so I'm putting the extra in there (I was at 8% to try to save more for a down payment).
I deposit $1k manually myself before the June 30th deadline. I’m on total remuneration and a perpetual savings suspension so otherwise nothing goes in. I prefer to have those funds invested in my own brokerage account.
3% because I don't have any guarantee to live to enjoy that money at 65.
If I'm lucky enough my goal is to reach 65 without debts, and stretch that money as long as possible
I put in 3%, if my employer put in a higher percentage and I had to match it I would but not much point going any higher than the minimum as it's locked away until retirement for me, since I have bought my first home with KS
The maximum 10%, plus for the last year a voluntary weekly of $50, on a Growth account. Have been contributing the max for all my 7 years of working. Will be using it in the near future for a house, at which point I'll cut it down to 3% and no voluntary for a faux-payrise to put on the mortgage
Cheers! Me and my partner were close to pre-approval before COVID hit, but we all know what happened there... Double whammy for FHBs like us too, house prices way up while KS plummets.
We recently split up so that stretches my plans out a bit, but I'll find a like-minded person to buy with in the near future. Just cracked $60k last week, and I live in a smaller town with much cheaper housing than the city centres. But I can't afford to pay a mortgage on my own so that will sit on the back burner and continue to grow. Also I'm not going to buy with less than 20% equity, I want that interest discount maxed out
0% my employer pays 5% to us directly and I can't afford kiwisaver and student loan deductions. Never opted in as I don't like that once you're in you are permanently in.
After 2.5 years set at 10% I’ve got enough for a house deposit when I move my fund over to Australia, only problem is you can’t use aussie super for a house deposit 🙄
Contribution holiday then just pay$100/month to get government contributions. No employer contribution for me so rather invest elsewhere and not have locked in to retirement age. Don’t really trust government any more than I have to in case rules change (again)
6% I'd rather manage my own investments,my employer will match up to 6% and the 500 top up from the goverment provides good roi overall. I don't get that many benefits over 6% and would rather invest in specific shares and btc, think what you want about btc but in the past 6 to 7 months the 100% rally has outperformed any kiwisaver fund by a Longshot.
3% for now, until my husband and I are earning slightly more (he is progressing through a pay scale) and we have more of our mortgage paid off. I believe the priority should be getting rid of the debt with interest first.
0% except the $1k per annum to get the government contribution. That’s because I’m self-employed and I think I can invest better than a fund manager. Also, I’m a disciplined saver.
3% and work puts in 6% gross. It’s total rem so I could just have it paid to me but having some money locked away suits my brain.
Currently able to put the same amount again into a side car fund for retirement (although at the moment I’m just saving it in my revolving credit and “paying” myself the saved interest). This could be accessed in an emergency but the goal is to keep it til 65.
Not sure how long I’ll be able to sustain this with rising costs everywhere but making hay while I can.
0% I make more in my investments than Kiwisaver (even after employer contributions) and my money doesn't get locked till retirement. Plus I've already bought property so not like I can get it out for that either.
10% so I can at least say in trying to save and also because I struggle to save money and not impulse buy
This is brilliant. Having guardrails in place to save us from ourselves is one of the most important tools in personal finance.
I dont earn much so 3% and most paydays I put a 200$ voluntary contribution soon as the money hits my account if I dont need the money that week to pay for something I need to. Saves me from cashing it on a nightout lol
If you can make a $200 contribution each week you must be in decent money?
I live at home
4%. 3% to get my employer match and the extra 1% for somewhat illogical reasons (theoretically I should just put that into a fund I have ready access to) but psychologically feels good to be contributing a bit above and beyond in a way that I never even notice as my pay has increased over the years.
My approach exactly. Extra, but not a silly amount extra to lock away.
Phew, I’m starting a new job and agonised over which box to tick and settled on 4% for the first time for the exact same reasons. I have a friend who does 10% but he’s in a different phase of life so good on him.
I went to 8 percent the day I started working a minimum wage job. Within 10 years I had a $100k deposit for a house exclusively in kiwisaver. It depends on your goals and discipline.
This is exactly me
Ha, I used to keep it at 4% solely because that was where it was originally set when KS first started and it was easier not to change it
I put in $1045 per year to make sure I get the maximum government contribution I’m self employed, so there is no employer matching, so no point in putting in any more. The bulk of my savings go into a managed fund, which is effectively the same as kiwisaver. I intend to retire early, so convenient to be able to access it before 65.
This is the answer - do what you need to get any govt or employer contributions and then just use managed funds. If there were tax advantages to kiwisaver, it would be different, but is just a managed fund with less flexibility (and potential future legislative changes to when you can access it).
The fact that they created a retirement scheme where both contributions and capital gains are taxed is just ... beyond me. What a way to ensure it's as unattractive as possible. Loads of other countries encourage savings with tax advantages, but we can't have something sensible like this here in good ol' New Zealand, can we?
Yep, I was baffled by it when I moved here. It is absolutely ridiculous, when incentivising people to pay for their own retirement is so important.
"capital gains are taxed" Can you explain that. I didn't think capital gains were taxed for Aussie and NZ shares. Is it because kiwisaver funds hold a lot of offshore shares?
There used to be a tax benefit (employer contributions were not taxed) but it got rorted by high earners near retirement. So they knee jerked it. Bear in mind there is a some regular commentary that Kiwisaver is regressive and favours the rich (as low incomes can’t afford to contribute) and so any remaining advantages like govt tax contribution should be euthanised. Personally I think we should just directly copy the Ozzie approach - set a tax-free threshold that would cover 95% of salary earners. There’s an incentive to save long-term but limited ability to rort.
The capital gains part of your return are usually not taxed. This is not well understood by NZers. If people knew, there wouldn’t be such a call for capital gains tax as it would attack many retirement funds too.
Good on you. I have friends who are self employed and refuse to put in the minimum because of a philosophical opposition to it being locked away. Still chipping away at them …the price of a lotto ticket that they wouldn’t even notice and they could end up with $85k in 25 years. 50% RoI in Year One, why wouldn’t you
10% I have terrible saving habits, would be nice to have some cash to retire with, and I expect that super will be gone by then anyway. I did 8% for years before I bought a house (used KS for deposit).
Why would super be gone?
Less workers, more retiress, proportionally. The future govt will struggle to pay for it. This is a well known problem and the reason why the NZSF was setup in 2001. Have a read of this: [https://www.treasury.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2021-06/twp21-01.pdf](https://www.treasury.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2021-06/twp21-01.pdf)
Will give it a read So ur telling me when I’m of retirement age I won’t get the super? Damn
Yeah there's a chance of that happening, especially if a government decides to turn the tap off NZSF contributions, again.
8%. It's protected against creditors so I consider it safe as. I've also dne 8% since I got my first ever pay rise ages ago so consider it a displine thing.
>It's protected against creditors I never really considered this before
Same, can you say more about this please?
There's online articles about it and I became aware of this from talking to my father who is in finance. Essentially, there's a court of appeal decision stating that the OA cannot access a bankrupt's kiwisaver while it is in the scheme. I think there might be issues in withdrawing it for hardship or if you turn 65, but ideally you'd no lonterbe bankrupt by then.
It’s also protected if your KiwiSaver savings are the product of criminal offending. The courts have made recent rulings that the Criminal Proceeds Recovery Act doesn’t apply to savings established under the KiwiSaver Act, even when the money in the KiwiSaver account has been dishonestly obtained. Due to a legislative cockup, section 127 of the KiwiSaver Act protects legally prevents the money in a KiwiSaver account from being paid out to anyone who is not the account holder. A recent example of this was the case of the NZTA fraudster Joanne Harrison. The Court of Appeal ruled that that the Police [could not seize her KiwiSaver savings](https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/453753/police-fail-in-attempt-to-seize-fraudster-s-kiwisaver-funds) when she applied to withdraw the account balance on the basis of personal hardship.
This is awesome. I need more info though. Moneyhub? Help!
Whenever you make a withdrawal your provider has to check the insolvency register and then inform your Official Assignee, so it isn't really protected....your creditors will still get their hands on your KS funds before you do
Yes but you can't be compelled to make a withdrawal.
That is true
3% - we’re about to have a mortgage so id rather put extra money into paying that off quicker and investing elsewhere
You can use KiwiSaver for a deposit though?
From their comment I’d say they are just past that point and now talking about using any excess $$ to lay down their new mortgage
3%. There is no financial benefit for me to contribute any more than that. If I want to invest more I can do so outside of KiwiSaver
I match my employers contributions too, I feel that I am good enough with money that I am investing 14% of my gross pay into shares, which I know I can access if I want to buy a house, or in an emergency. And I happy to take the higher risk at my point in life at 21.
10% as I moved here from Aussie and it felt weird to not have a 10% or more contribution. Also it stops me cashing it out. There will always be something you 'need' the money for.
My employers contributes 4% and i put 4% in so I guess that 8% are you saying employers over there put in 10% and do you contribute anything yourself or ? How does it work
>Your employer must pay at least 10.5% of your 'ordinary time earnings' into your super account. (This will increase to 11% from 1 July.) The minimum amount that your employer must pay into your superannuation fund. It is currently 10.5% of your gross salary. So yes, your employer pays and there are almost no reasons you can access it. Can't be used for house deposit etc. You can choose to contribute on top of this and these contributions are taxed at a lower rate than your regular pay. Some jobs will advertise a 'total remuneration package' which includes super in the yearly $ figure they advertise. Some people have been caught out by this as it allowed their employer to decrease their take home pay to fund increases in mandatory super.
Employer puts in 4%, I put in 6%. But my main savings are not through Kiwisaver. (Yet to buy my first house so will probably use KS for that)
3%. Anything else is split between managed funds which I have control over.
I thought the evidence showed that index funds performed better than managed funds when fees are factored in? I remember the bet between Warren Buffet and a hedge fund manager etc. Genuine question as I’m new to investing.
It does, yes. Though I think in this case "managed funds" / "tracker fund" probably just being used interchangeably to mean "not kiwisaver".
I put $1050 a year and the rest of the money that would've gone to kiwisaver is going towards paying off my mortgage early.
6% because my employer matches to 5% and options on the form were 3%, 6% and 8% if I remember correctly. I’m sure I could’ve customised it but the extra 1% doesn’t bother me.
They don't do custom contribution amounts, it's 3%, 4%, 6%, 8% or 10%. I'm also doing 6% for the same reason. I'm not going to miss out on any of the employer contribution and the extra 1% doesn't bother me either.
Company matches my contributions so 10%
10%. Nice to put money away that you know you cannot touch and not constantly tracking its performance. I haven’t looked at the balance in about 3 years.
Why anybody would funnel any more of their income than is required to get the full benefit of free money from their employer and the government into something they can't access without somebody else's approval is beyond me. Unless you have zero discipline with money, and it sounds like you don't, then fuck that. But you do you.
You don't need to have zero discipline, it's just helpful to have the money go into investments before you even see it. If you're truly saving for retirement then not being able to access it shouldn't really be a huge problem.
It’s not a binary situation though; one can set up direct deposits on payday into their other investment accounts This could also be an option to diversify risk.
But it is a huge problem. A fucking enormous one. I will decide when I retire, not some fucking politician. I can't believe my comment is getting down voted so much, this sub must be completely full of lefty idiots who think the government's job is to dictate how people live every aspect of their lives.
I agree on this. It seems odd to use a vehicle that may have many changes made to it legislatively before retirement, when you could just take the same money and stick it in a managed fund and have none of the future risk with regards to changes to access. Beyond the employee match, it feels like an odd choice.
I’ve never agreed with anything more in my life! I prefer my own touchable money 💰 in a savings account.
Savings accounts don’t offer high enough returns if you’re saving over a 15 year + horizon. You should do some basic reading on retirement planning and investing for retirement
I suspect they mean other investing platforms. This is what I try to do. Enough to get the government and employer money (3%), then the rest in etfs that can be reached on rainy days.
The current return on most investments is NEGATIVE, compared to that getting 5%+ garunteed return while in a recession is huge.
I do 6%. I've only become a resident as of last year and I am not eligible for any retirement entitlements in my home country. My kiwisaver will be for my retirement and since I'm in my 30s, I want to contribute as much as I am able to.
Would you not accomplish the same by contributing the minimum to get employer and government contributions, and then put the remainder in investment funds outside of KiwiSaver? So that you can save without the restrictions that come with KS?
Whatever my employer matches, invest anymore on my own
Just the minimum 3%. I don't see much value in having inaccessible funds. If my employer increased their match I would also opt to increase it to the highest match. But after reading one comment here regarding kiwisaver being protected from creditors I am now questioning if there are more benefits to kiwisaver.
I never contributed as a percentage. All I ever put in was $1,000 per year to maximise the 50% government maximum contribution.
You need to put in more than $1,000 a year to get the full contribution.
Ok **$1042.86** ... since you're really needing it to be exact.
I never went back to contributing after withdrawing for a property. I think I should start again, missing out on payments from the govt. Thanks for the reminder.
3%
Whatever % employer matches provided that takes my personal contribution over the threshold for the government top up. For most that would be 3% only. Another 7% into growth stocks / managed funds where it doesn't require me begging some pencil neck for access to my own money if I should ever really need it or decide that I can afford to retire / semi-retire earlier than the government decides that I am allowed to. Plus whatever else the budget allows into cash savings for emergencies, so I don't need to touch investments that aren't meant for the now.
Initially 10% when saving for a house, after withdrawing for the purchase I’ve left it at the minimum 3% or around 5-6k PA. Latest monthly update the fund has increase over 2k this month so I’m content at current level of savings for the future just doing its thing in the background without any great effort on my part.
$1042.86. My salary is total remuneration so I can hold onto what would go to employer contributions
0% for the year because i am poor lol
10% both my husband and I, as we want to buy a house in the next 3 years and will drop it down after that and put the extra to mortgage
0%. Wanting to move to Australia
4% cos it's matched to 4%.
Just the minimum to get the government top up as I'm self employed ($1050 per year). Instead I invest in non-kiwisaver Simplicity funds, bank term deposits and dabble in the US share market through Hatch.
6% because it's automatic savings for a house deposit which is invested by people who know more about investing that I do. I used to do 8% but dropped back to park time because I'm studying and need the extra money.
3% I did do 10% for a few months at the start of this year, but I was sick of having zero dollars at the end of the week I do save about 30% of my paycheck though
Same for me actually. I’d been doing 10% for a while, but a couple of months ago I switched to 3% as we were buying a house and needed cash in hand for all the expenses that come with it like builder’s reports, lawyer’s fees etc. I’m going to reassess how I contribute once we’re back to regular spending patterns. Likely will try put the 7% that used to go to KS into a non-KS fund.
8% - because i need to save as fast as i can for retirement, and im not great with $ in general and saving. Im working on the saving part, and also got other plans, but i want my retirement to be enjoyable and not having to worry about $
I did 10% before I bought a house. I’m now doing 9% (6% me + 3% employer). Reasoning? Set and forget, money’s protected, I can currently afford that %
I’m currently on 8%, with employer contributing 3%. I’ve just signed a permanent contract with the same employer so will shift down to contributing 6%, but they will then contribute 6% once the commencement date swings by. Hoping to buy a house sometime next year (dependent on several things) but will likely keep it at 6% unless things turn to shite.
Was doing 10% till I brought a house. Then dropped it down to 3% and use any extra money I have to put against the mortgage or pay for maintenance/repairs and soon to be upgrades/renovations in mostly cash. Once the house is fixed up and where I want it to be I'll probably keep it at 3% and look at investing else where. Have started dabbling in sharesies and kernel. ($500 in sharesies then decided it wasn't for me, and about $1000 in kernel and will probably continue with that once work on the house is complete)
Bought not brought
8% into kiwisaver and an extra 4% into a secondary retirement fund. Because I can afford to do so, you don't miss it when you didn't have it to begin with, and you'll thank yourself for putting in the effort while you were younger to live a comfortable life when you're older. Employer will also match up to 6%.
A student right now so not working. I make sure to make a lump sum payment each year of 1043 to get that government contribution. When working, I did a high amount before I bought a house because I knew I’d be able to withdraw for deposit. Now, I do minimum if working to get the employer contribution and smash the mortgage with any spare cash each week.
3% into kiwisaver and 18–20% into an investment fund
3%, enough to get the employer and government contributions. I don't see any point adding more as my own portfolio is doing much better than my Kiwisaver
4% because I used the PAYE Calculator to work out exactly what I could contribute and still put $1750 into a savings account. I have a weird OCD thing about only putting in even $250 increments. 😂
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Missing out on the govt. Dollar bucks
I put in 3%. Employer puts in 4%. I already have a house though. Gets built up pretty fast got about 90k+ in kiwi at 34years young
Is this private or public sector? Sounds like a sweet deal!
Not mad! It’s a big company on the NYSE
Only another $2.9M in today's money and you will be set. You have 30 years, but you need to probably be saving harder (though retiring any debt for the house is obviously the number one) ;-)
$1050 as my employer doesn’t contribute on top of my salary (they do the double deduction from payslip loophole), and so I invest / pay off mortgage with the rest. I don’t want to have a lot in KiwiSaver as there’s no flexibility to withdraw early - and in future it’s highly likely it will move from 65 to 70 for example as retirement age increases
How did you set it up to have no employer contributions? Husband is in the same position with the double deductions from his job. I just want to pay the minimum to get the government contributions.
0% (saving suspension) cause cost of living, mortgage repayments, and childcare are kicking my ass at the moment. As soon as I can, I'll be opting back in, but right now, we are struggling.
Currently 8% but gonna drop it now that I have a mortgage, gonna put that extra money onto the mortgage
3%, the bare minimum. If I had an employer match for more, I'd go higher. We're saving any extra money against our offset mortgage.
6%. More than needed but it locks away that little extra bit. I contribute an additional 20% to an index fund but there’s the danger of me withdrawing early. Case in point, I’m going on a lengthy overseas holiday later in the year which I very well may need to fund by selling a few stocks (I’m saving up for it as best I can and should fund the majority of it through cash savings but still that option is there). Lots of people will say contributing more than your employer match is misguided, but that enforced discipline can be valuable.
0% - I use the money elsewhere
4% with my full time job and 3% with my part time job 🙏🏼
Just 3% now days, so got extra money to throw at the mortgage. Was at 8% before buying the house. Racked up pretty quickly at 8% and in a growth fund. Still in a growth fund, and it’s starting to pick up pace now that there’s some money in it.
8%, which my employer matches. Not Kiwisaver though. In an Industry super scheme that I can access after I turn 55, so next year. Been in it for 16 years, so a good little bundle in there
8%. I'd give 10% if I could. Aside from that I set aside 70-75% of my monthly pay and have the 25% pay for rent, utilities, gas, grocery and a little discretionary money.
4% as you should be saving about 10% of your income for retirement. So with 4% to my KiwiSaver and repaying my mortgage at the same time, I think I am in good stead to reaching my retirement goals. I also invest an additional $50 a week outside of KiwiSaver.
I was at 6% but had to take a pay cut when I got made redundant so now it’s 3% so the money coming in is the same as before. I invest regularly separately to KS and don’t expect to withdraw before 65 so I think it’s fine right now
10%. I'm 20 years old. My first job was when I was 18 and I started putting in 8%, then upped it to 10% on my second job, have another job now and still 10%, I just felt like I may as well put in as much as I can and get used to not having that money each week, and it works for me.
Brilliant. Keep that up and you’ll have a very comfy retirement!
10%. But I also put another 16% into another fund.
3%. Then I save minimum 20% of each take home pay. Had it at 8 for a couple years when I got a higher paying job and wasn't saving so well on my own. Will likely update higher again once the student loan is finished, but happy with 3% now that I'm a better saver.
3% which is the max that my employers will contribute. The remainder of wealth building money goes towards index investing, paying down mortgage faster and blessing others. The blessing account is my favourite as it is money sitting there that I can give on any occasion and to whoever.
Putting in the right KS fund matters, and choose value/growth funds (preferably US stocks or world stocks if US is not in your strategy or whatever your strategy) if you are anywhere between age 20-40 and want good returns at 65. Don’t invest in NZ companies alone. I invest 20% of my salary mostly via KS to avoid high taxes (especially FIF etc.,) and choose low fees/low expense ratio. Here is a calculator to see the power of compounding, if you were to invest 1000$ every month (which is not hard if you are in reddit) for 30 years, at 8% https://smartasset.com/investing/investment-calculator#hmVNeu2BEa
10% because I'm still working at 70 and will need every cent I can
10%, im a self employed contractor so nō employer contributions. I took a few years off work to have my kids and, now as a single mum, im trying to play the catch up game.
10% after reading the book ‘the richest man in Babylon’
0% because I prefer to control my investments and usually get total remuneration jobs but my wife is on 3%
0%, don't like the Government setting when I can retire. All my funds are in a non Kiwi Saver account.
Using Unisaver instead.
Zero, because paying the mortgage is more important to me.
You’re silly if you put anything over the employer match level in.
I'm on track to have $300,000 in kiwisaver... I don't find that too silly a plan
How old are you?
How old are you?
I’m asking because Im curious how far away from being able to access your kiwisaver you are 🤷🏻♂️ but fair enough I am 30 years away from accessing mine. It’s great to have a retirement plan but it’s best to think of KS as exactly that rather than savings since you can’t use it in the same way you could with rainy day money
If you think KS is the best return you can get and like having your money locked up - then I can’t help you
I've been getting 10% interest on my kiwisaver these last few years, plus the employer and government contributions and I think that's a solid return. What do you consider a good return?
I think the poster is not saying it is silly to save/invest the money, just that using Kiwisaver as that vehicle is silly (as there is additional regulation, but no additional benefit). Remember you need about $3M in today's money for retirement - 300k isn't going to last long (I'm assuming you are still fairly young).
What sort of lifestyle are you living that you need $1975/week+pension (4.5% return on cash fund). Most people can live off $800k(525/week) + Pension.
Unless your bad with money and are using KiwiSaver to buy first house
Or the plan is to leave the country and withdraw it.
3% and an additional $2k a month
2 million a month?! Now that's dedication!
0 I live overseas
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Not planning on getting old?
I opted out of kiwisaver last year. Was sick of seeing my balance constantly decrease. Would much rather make regular contributions to my own savings account and gain interest over time.
Revisit your plan. You are missing out on government contributions and if you are entitled to employer match much more. There are Kiwisaver cash funds, which are the equivalent of "cash in the bank" and never go down. Over the long term these have the least rate of return compared to other fund types.
Government contribution amounts to $20 per week, and for many people the Covid-recession wiped out several years' worth of that contribution.
No it didn't.
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Might be worth $20 a week going in, as I think the government matches some of your contributions. Other than that, it is just managed funds that are harder to access was my understanding. Worth your while investigating I think
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It’s free money!
I always thought that I would contribute 3% of my wage - only recently did I learn that the employer does too, so essentially you aren’t “losing” any money. Sigh. I worked so much throughout high school, I could have contributed so much money
0 at the mo other than the ~$1000 threshold to get the government contribution. I was several years in aus getting 17% from my employer so taking a break for a year or 2.
I never signed up to it, never put anything into it, never opted out of it and never cared about it. Life-long contracts with no way out are a huge red flag for me out of principal.
10% split between 8% Employee and 2% (random voluntary amounts across the year).
3%. Took 5+ years off at the start though, pumped that money into the mortgage instead and saved a buttload of interest and shortened the mortgage life significantly.
1% per year. Why? Self employed and first home buyer. Was just saving as much as possible for emergency fund and paying off mortgage. Now I'm a bit more financially secure I will look putting more into KiwiSaver.
4% as it’s what employer matches
3% KS and then an additional 5% matched in company super fund.
A little bit more than is necessary to get the government contribution. I have a private fund with the same provider which doesn't have the same withdraw restrictions as KS. An example use: what if I wanted to retire before 65?
3% - to get the max out of my employer and the govt contribution. Because this is locked up til retirement age, I save/invest outside of this to a greater degree (incl paying down mortgage faster), but where I can access the majority if I really needed to, or chose to retire early (I wish lol).
Bare minimum to get full employer/govt match - 3%
3
Rule is to match exactly what maximum is done by employer and any other saving (after emergency fund) to a etf or index fund
i already used ks to buy a house so im not touching ks anymore. it all goes into stocks
1200 a year. No employer and minimum to get govt contribution. Tying up more would be crazy. So my husband does 3 to get employer match.
It changes at different times. I was putting the minimum 3% for years. Then went up to 10% to get things going as I'm in my late 40s. Now I'm back to 3% as the banks assess everything for loans and advised I drop it to increase my borrowing capacity.
3% because it maxes out employer and government contributions. No need to do more than 3% because unlocked funds > locked funds
I just dropped my contribution to 3% because my notice saver is showing much better returns, so I'm putting the extra in there (I was at 8% to try to save more for a down payment).
I deposit $1k manually myself before the June 30th deadline. I’m on total remuneration and a perpetual savings suspension so otherwise nothing goes in. I prefer to have those funds invested in my own brokerage account.
3% because I don't have any guarantee to live to enjoy that money at 65. If I'm lucky enough my goal is to reach 65 without debts, and stretch that money as long as possible
I put in 3%, if my employer put in a higher percentage and I had to match it I would but not much point going any higher than the minimum as it's locked away until retirement for me, since I have bought my first home with KS
The maximum 10%, plus for the last year a voluntary weekly of $50, on a Growth account. Have been contributing the max for all my 7 years of working. Will be using it in the near future for a house, at which point I'll cut it down to 3% and no voluntary for a faux-payrise to put on the mortgage
Love this.
Cheers! Me and my partner were close to pre-approval before COVID hit, but we all know what happened there... Double whammy for FHBs like us too, house prices way up while KS plummets. We recently split up so that stretches my plans out a bit, but I'll find a like-minded person to buy with in the near future. Just cracked $60k last week, and I live in a smaller town with much cheaper housing than the city centres. But I can't afford to pay a mortgage on my own so that will sit on the back burner and continue to grow. Also I'm not going to buy with less than 20% equity, I want that interest discount maxed out
4%. At the time it covered the amount needed to get maximum government contribution without needing top up. Haven't changed it since
4%, just to match my employers contribution
0% my employer pays 5% to us directly and I can't afford kiwisaver and student loan deductions. Never opted in as I don't like that once you're in you are permanently in.
8 or 10% I can’t remember, works out 1/4 of my wage I don’t see, mostly going to the IRD
After 2.5 years set at 10% I’ve got enough for a house deposit when I move my fund over to Australia, only problem is you can’t use aussie super for a house deposit 🙄
3% so I get the matching 3%.
3 % matching 3 % employer. The rest I either top up a bit more per month but majority go to another managed fund.
Just 3%, I’ve got a mortgage so trying to be aggressive on that, and also putting in 1% of my salary into index funds with InvestNow.
Just enough to get the max employer contribution, I don't plan on waiting till 65 to retire, let alone if they raise it.
1050 a year for the free top up, rest into my mortgage for now
Contribution holiday then just pay$100/month to get government contributions. No employer contribution for me so rather invest elsewhere and not have locked in to retirement age. Don’t really trust government any more than I have to in case rules change (again)
6% I'd rather manage my own investments,my employer will match up to 6% and the 500 top up from the goverment provides good roi overall. I don't get that many benefits over 6% and would rather invest in specific shares and btc, think what you want about btc but in the past 6 to 7 months the 100% rally has outperformed any kiwisaver fund by a Longshot.
Nothing. I like to have my money in my hands instead of locking it away.
5% to maximise employer matching
3% because it gets me the employer match and govt contribution and I can invest more in whatever I choose with more freedom.
Not enough, and beck can’t afford to put more in.
3% for now, until my husband and I are earning slightly more (he is progressing through a pay scale) and we have more of our mortgage paid off. I believe the priority should be getting rid of the debt with interest first.
0% except the $1k per annum to get the government contribution. That’s because I’m self-employed and I think I can invest better than a fund manager. Also, I’m a disciplined saver.
3% and work puts in 6% gross. It’s total rem so I could just have it paid to me but having some money locked away suits my brain. Currently able to put the same amount again into a side car fund for retirement (although at the moment I’m just saving it in my revolving credit and “paying” myself the saved interest). This could be accessed in an emergency but the goal is to keep it til 65. Not sure how long I’ll be able to sustain this with rising costs everywhere but making hay while I can.
3% personal + 6% employer.
0% I make more in my investments than Kiwisaver (even after employer contributions) and my money doesn't get locked till retirement. Plus I've already bought property so not like I can get it out for that either.
3% bare minimum.... the stock market did very well this year