By Fiona Mackenzie, Managing Director, Funds Management, ANZ NZ
First published in The Post, 21/06/26
New Zealanders don’t believe NZ Super will stay the same by the time they retire - and that matters.
When we asked our ANZ KiwiSaver customers, 60% said they expect change. Among those aged 35–54, most think the eligibility age will rise. Around a third expect some form of means testing.
The public is already doing the maths; the real question is whether policymakers are ready to follow.
Over the past 20 years, KiwiSaver has steadily built a culture of saving and investing.
Today, more than 3.3 million New Zealanders are members. Balances are increasing. Contribution rates are rising.
Our younger members are particularly engaged, using KiwiSaver both to buy their first home and to build long-term retirement savings. This is a key difference with Australia’s compulsory superannuation system and a large part of KiwiSaver’s strong appeal while it remains voluntary.
To date, 123,000 people have made a withdrawal from ANZ’s three KiwiSaver schemes to help them buy a first home, with withdrawals totalling $3.4 billion. Encouragingly, our data also shows of those members who were contributing prior to their first home withdrawal, around 95 per cent continue to make contributions afterwards.
KiwiSaver has helped grow confidence in investing and strengthened our capital markets.
For a voluntary scheme, those are real successes.
But the conditions that supported that success are changing.
Many of the original incentives are gone. And if KiwiSaver is now critical to supporting a decent retirement, as most would agree, then current trends should concern us.
The warning signs are already there. Participation and contribution are becoming less consistent at the very time we need them most.
Fewer children are being signed up to KiwiSaver, around 40% of members are not contributing regularly, and cost-of-living pressures are driving continued increases in hardship withdrawals.
Structural gaps remain, including a persistent gender and ethnic retirement savings gap.
The data shows these gaps emerge early. Among our ANZ KiwiSaver customers, the gender savings gap is minimal until age 18, but it jumps to 10 per cent at age 19 and widens from there.
Women, Māori and Pasifika communities, and others continue to face additional barriers to building long-term financial security.
Taken together, these trends point in one direction; too many New Zealanders are at risk of reaching retirement underprepared.
This is the real risk. We are heading toward a future where NZ Super may provide less than people expect and KiwiSaver outcomes are uneven and, for many, insufficient.
That combination puts increasing pressure on individuals, and ultimately on the system itself. Which is why the timing matters.
Before any changes are made to NZ Super, we need to strengthen KiwiSaver.
People need time, certainty, and a system that works for them.
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Fiona Mackenzie, Managing Director, Funds Management, ANZ NZ
Here are my three ideas to strengthen KiwiSaver. These are not new, but from our discussions they are well supported and increasingly urgent.
Every child should start with a KiwiSaver account from birth, with automatic enrolment and an initial government contribution. This is outlined by Fraser Whineray in his comprehensive KiwiSaver 2.0 work.
Default them into Growth or High Growth funds and consider ongoing annual incentives like matching the first $100 a family contributes every year to the age 18. Then let compounding do the work over time.
This would give every single New Zealander, regardless of background, a stronger start in life. With the right support our younger members could lead New Zealand into a future where retirement is secure, equitable and sustainable.
Gradually lift contribution rates over 8 years - building on the move to a 4% default contribution rate by April 2028.
My suggestion would be to increase the employee and employer contribution rates to 6% each, a combined rate of 12%.
Gradual increases for employer and employee contributions would give everyone time to adjust.
Lastly, we need to better support for those who can’t contribute consistently.
KiwiSaver works best for people in stable employment, but many aren’t. We should better support lower-income earners, the self-employed and people on parental leave.
Options could include targeted government contributions, even when individuals can’t contribute themselves.
Paying for this means making choices. Strengthening KiwiSaver won’t be cost-free.
For example, funding a contribution for newborns could mean reconsidering the current government contribution for members aged 16–64.
Not everyone will agree. However, there is a tendency to get stuck in the complexity of these debates and delay decisions.
But the direction of travel is already clear.
New Zealanders expect change, the system is under pressure, and the longer we wait, the harder the adjustment becomes.
KiwiSaver remains one of our most powerful long-term investments.
What’s needed now is a clear, consistent plan to strengthen it so people can plan their futures with confidence and retire with greater certainty.