The Latest KiwiSaver Stats And What They Mean

3.4 million New Zealanders are invested in KiwiSaver, and the money in the system has grown to about $142 billion. Those numbers are big enough to change how we think about retirement savings, first-home buying, and the role long-term investing plays in New Zealand’s economy. Dave joins us again as our resident “stats man”, and we get practical about what the latest KiwiSaver statistics actually mean for real people, not just headlines.

We walk through what’s working well: participation is high, total funds are up around 10.5% year on year, and average balances are now sitting near $40,000. We also dig into the moment many people start paying attention, around the $30,000 mark, when fund choice, risk level, and staying invested start to feel more serious. For first-home buyers, we talk about KiwiSaver withdrawals and what an average withdrawal of about $42,000 can do when you’re combining savings with a partner and trying to reach a deposit goal.

Then we look at what’s not working as well, especially for self-employed New Zealanders and tradies who may not be contributing consistently because the business comes first and cashflow is tight. We talk about KiwiSaver as a safety net, including the reality of hardship access, and why building a simple habit like $20 a week can matter over decades. We finish with a clear filter for making decisions: focus on returns after fees, and consider the whole package, including whether you can get advice and solid service.

If you want sharper KiwiSaver settings and fewer money regrets later, hit play, share this with someone who needs a nudge, and leave us a review. What’s the one KiwiSaver question you want answered next?

Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 0:10

You said to us you love the numbers. You love the stats. You want to know more. So I brought Dave back and we're going to talk a little bit more about Kiwi Savers and the numbers out there

Why We’re Talking Numbers

SPEAKER_01 0:20

right now.

SPEAKER_00 0:21

Hello, Dave. Morning. I'm going to be known as a stats man at some stage, I think, aren't I?

SPEAKER_01 0:24

You will be. Well, this is what people are asking me to provide.

SPEAKER_00 0:27

Oh no, I I I'm I'm with them. I love I love the stats around this sort of thing in it. Because what it does, it helps people stop and think and go, wow, that's that's it's growing.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

Yeah. So what's the state of the nation?

SPEAKER_00 0:39

So at the moment, so we're talking Kiwi Saber here. At the moment, we've got 3.4 million Kiwis invested in Kiwi Saber.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

3.4

How Many Kiwis Are Enrolled

SPEAKER_01 0:47

million Kiwis.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

3.4 million Kiwis invested in Kiwi Saber.

SPEAKER_01 0:51

What's the population of New Zealand?

SPEAKER_00 0:52

We're about five in low fives now, aren't we? That's not bad. Yeah, yeah. So it's pretty good if you think about the kids and the retirees. Okay. If you take them off, it's pretty close to having most working people, which is a good start if it becomes compulsory. So you know, we're we're getting there with the numbers for sure.

SPEAKER_01 1:09

Okay. What's working well? Yeah. Let's start with what's working well. So let's look.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

So we look at it, we look at our stats each year, and we get a lot of stats from government on this as well. And obviously we do our own

Total Funds And Growth

SPEAKER_00 1:21

numbers. There's $142 billion invested across New Zealand in Kiwi Saber. This is up 10.5% from last year. So that's important to note that this includes contributions and investment movement and so forth. But that is a lot of money that's that's going back into New Zealand, which is great. And this is one of the things, and I'll use Australia as an example. There's billions and billions of dollars invested in Australia. And what that does, it goes back into Australian business, back into Australian economy, which is really good for that economy. So we're getting there. It's it's great to see.

SPEAKER_01 2:00

Well, they've done fantastic with their Kiwi Saber, haven't they? I mean, we're miles behind them. Yeah. Miles behind. I think their contributions are 12%.

SPEAKER_00 2:07

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

And we're sitting at three and a half.

SPEAKER_00 2:10

We are.

SPEAKER_01 2:11

So we definitely have a lot of work to do in this. We do.

SPEAKER_00 2:14

And and the government, I think both governments, or it any government that gets in will be looking at KiwiSaber and increasing that and making it possibly compulsory at some stage.

SPEAKER_01 2:23

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. What else is working well?

SPEAKER_00 2:25

So the average balance for people, and I think I've mentioned this before, is up nine and a half percent up to about $40,000 now.

SPEAKER_01 2:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:33

Now that's

Average Balances And First Homes

SPEAKER_00 2:34

in the 10 years that I've been working with Booster, that's gone up from about $15,000 to the average balance. We received some research uh not long ago from the States, which talked about when do people start taking money seriously? And $30,000 is that is that sort of figure where people start to go, oh, actually, I need to make sure I'm getting the most out of this now.

SPEAKER_01 2:54

Yeah.

unknown 2:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:56

Interesting. Because again, I guess over the last 10 years they've been contributing, the salary's been going up, the contributions have been going up as well. Yeah. And now a lot of them are at a point where they go, Oh, I've got enough to borrow for my first home. Yeah, correct. Because that's that's pretty much what we see. A lot of balances when people come to us and when they put it together with another peer. So they usually would have 10% for an 800k house.

SPEAKER_00 3:22

Yeah, and we I think we talked about that last time. The average balance at the moment for someone withdrawing for the Kiwi Saver is $42,000.

SPEAKER_01 3:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:29

Which is great. And we talked in one of our other podcasts about getting kids started early. Yeah. Let's give them a start. So that withdrawal could end up being $70,000, $80,000. So you know, it's only it's definitely worth thinking about.

SPEAKER_01 3:42

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 3:43

So another stat, and this is one of the ones that blows my mind, even looking at our ones as well, is people's contributions. So that's people putting money into their own Kiwi Saver

The $12.2b Contribution Machine

SPEAKER_00 3:53

for their own retirement or their first home is $12.2 billion per year. That's billion dollars per year that goes into the Kiwi Saver across New Zealand for people to help into their retirement and first home.

SPEAKER_01 4:07

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 4:07

It's significant. That's a lot. Yeah, yeah. So it's pretty significant. It's definitely worth taking into account. And you and I talked about people that are self-employed previously. Have a look at how this goes up each year, and I definitely encourage self-employed people to just think about starting to put some money into the state.

SPEAKER_01 4:31

That was gonna be my question. What's not working well, I guess. What's not working well in my head is that there are a lot of self-employed people that are not contributing, that are on the struggle street or

Self-Employed Falling Behind

SPEAKER_01 4:41

not even seeing Kiwi Saver as something that will benefit them in the future. Yeah. Because all they see right now is work, work, work. We have to work hard, we have to get through the through the job, you know, especially tradies. I feel like a lot of them are on the back um foot. Yeah. So I definitely think there's a lot of work to do there. Yeah, and hopefully with government support or something.

SPEAKER_00 5:05

Yeah. Yeah, because it's a safety net.

SPEAKER_01 5:08

Yeah, well, that's what I was saying.

SPEAKER_00 5:09

It's a safety net. People love to put money into their own businesses and people love their own businesses, and I get that because they're passionate, and that's what's going to make their business

KiwiSaver As A Safety Net

SPEAKER_00 5:16

work. However, you need a safety net for your retirement, or if something does happen and you you can then apply, you know, into your KiwiSaver to use it if you've if you are financially struggling or if you are ill, it's a nice safety net which at 20 bucks a week is gonna make a difference over 30 years.

SPEAKER_01 5:35

And again, I think we did an episode quite some time ago about the KiwiSaver hardships, yeah, applications, and how they've been on the rise over the last few years. Yeah. So yeah, I guess that's to the point where, you know, think of it as something you don't want to touch, hopefully until retirement, but it's something that you can fall back on if you need to.

SPEAKER_00 5:54

Yeah. It's almost like, I mean, I'm not in I encourage people to take insurance out, but it's almost like another self-insurance, really, because you once it's in your kiwi saber, you can't touch it. And it is there for you to use or to apply if you are struggling, but it's there for you to use in your retirement. And if something does happen with your business or when you sell your business, you might retire a bit earlier, but you've still got your Kiwi Saber there, it's never going to change.

SPEAKER_01 6:17

You know, I had an interesting conversation with someone the other day. They said to me they don't believe in property at all, and all they do is just investments.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

And it was really interesting to talk to

Property Versus Investing Mindset

SPEAKER_01 6:27

them about it. But they still want to get the mortgage out, even though they have enough investments to cover.

SPEAKER_00 6:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:33

Because in mortgages at the moment, you're paying, you know, 5% interest. Yeah. But in investments, they were getting way more than that. Yeah, correct. So the way they saw it is that they're borrowing here cheap money. Yeah. And then they still got the investments working hard for them.

SPEAKER_00 6:45

Yeah, it's always worth looking at a bit of both, you know, or whatever fits your personal views. And and but yeah, a lot of people do it that way for sure.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

Yeah. Any more stats?

SPEAKER_00 6:56

No, I didn't have anything else on that today.

SPEAKER_01 6:59

That's mind-blowing. So, in summary, we've got more New Zealanders investing. Would be awesome to have even more people investing. Most of the Kiwi Saver withdrawals are going towards first-time buyers

Returns After Fees And Wrap

SPEAKER_01 7:10

and retirees. Yep. 12 billion.

SPEAKER_00 7:13

Yep. Yep. So and I and I'd say take it, take it seriously, have a conversation with somebody just to make sure that you're going to get the most out of your Kiwi Saver.

SPEAKER_01 7:21

Yeah, because I guess with the Kiwi Saver, people need to consider the returns, historical returns and um fees. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 7:28

Yeah, so so if that they're a part of it. What I would say is when you're looking at returns, make sure it's after fees. Because sometimes people look at the fees only and go, oh, well, that's cheap fees, so it must be better. Have a look at the after fees. Returns is always key, but also look at what you get for your money. Do you get a financial advisor? Do you get advice? Do you um get top service? So always look at the package, but that's all part of it, yes.

SPEAKER_01 7:52

Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Dave. Can't wait to have you back again with more. Looking for it.

SPEAKER_00 7:56

Looking forward to it.