National pledges to raise default KiwiSaver contributions

In its first election policy announcement, the National Party said it would hike the default KiwiSaver contribution rate to 6% for both employers and employees by 2032. Under National’s proposal, the default rate – currently 3% – would rise by 0.5% every year from 1 April 2029 until it hits 6%.

When announcing the policy, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon compared KiwiSaver with Australia’s compulsory, 30-year-old, employer-funded superannuation scheme where the default rate is now 12% and some individual balances are now pushing the A$4 million mark.