A Moneybren tool

KIWISAVER CALCULATOR

How big will your KiwiSaver be at 65? Includes your employer’s share, the government’s share, and the tax on both.

Your details

yrs
$
$
%
3.5% is the legal minimum from 1 April 2026. Tax (ESCT) comes off this before it reaches your account.
% pa
FMA prescribed assumption for this fund type, after fees and tax. Edit it if you disagree.
% pa
yrs
% pa
Used to show the result in today’s dollars.
At 65 you’d have
$0
You put in$0
Employer added (after tax)$0
Government added$0
Returns earned$0

How it builds

Year-by-year detail

AgeYouEmployer (after tax)GovernmentReturnsBalance
The fine print, honestly. Employer contributions are taxed (ESCT) before they reach your account — at your salary the calculator picks the right rate from IRD’s brackets automatically. The government adds 25c for every $1 you contribute, capped at $260.72/yr, only while you earn $180,000 or less and are under 65. Returns use the FMA’s prescribed assumptions for each fund type (after fees and tax) — deliberately conservative, so real long-run results may be better. Assumes steady employment, no first-home withdrawal, no savings suspensions, and contributions credited yearly.

How to use this calculator

Enter your age, salary, and current balance, pick your contribution rate and fund type, and the calculator projects your KiwiSaver to retirement — showing exactly how much came from you, your employer, the government, and investment returns.

The single biggest lever is your fund type: switch between Conservative and Growth and watch what happens to the final number. The second biggest is your contribution rate.

This is a tool only, and none of the information it produces is financial advice. Its accuracy is not guaranteed. Always check your own figures and get advice from your own financial professionals before making decisions.

A worked example

Say you earn $75,000 and you’re on the default 3.5% rate (that’s where the default landed from 1 April 2026).

That’s $2,625 a year from you, matched with $2,625 from your employer, plus the government’s contribution of up to $260.72 if you’ve put in at least $1,042.86 yourself. Call it roughly $5,500 a year going into your account without you doing much at all.

Now let that run for 30 years in a growth fund earning around 7%, and the calculator will show you a balance north of half a million dollars. Three streams – you, your boss, the government – compounding together for decades.

Put your salary and contribution rate in above and watch it build.

What most people get wrong about KiwiSaver

Two mistakes cost Kiwis a fortune, and both are quiet.

First: the fund. Loads of people got auto-enrolled into a conservative or balanced fund years ago and never looked again. Over 30 years, the gap between a conservative fund and a growth fund isn’t small – it’s often tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. If retirement is decades away, sitting in a defensive fund is leaving serious money on the table.

Second: not grabbing the free money. The government chips in 25 cents for every dollar you contribute, up to $260.72 a year – but only if you’ve put in $1,042.86 yourself (about $20 a week). Miss that, and you’re leaving a guaranteed top-up on the table every single year.

Here’s the reframe: KiwiSaver isn’t some special government thing. It’s just a tax-friendly investment account with your employer and the government bolted on. The label doesn’t matter. The fund you pick, and actually contributing, is what builds the balance.

This calculator and page are general information only and not financial advice. Everyone’s circumstances will vary – always do your own research and consult your own financial professionals before making decisions.