New Zealand KiwiSaver Calculator 2026-27
Project your KiwiSaver balance at retirement with employee contributions, employer contributions, and the government contribution using the rates built into this tool (2026-27).
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How to use this calculator
- 1
Enter your annual gross income. The tool applies your chosen employee rate and a fixed 3.5% employer rate (the minimum from 1 April 2026) to that one figure, with no salary cap and no wage growth over the years.
- 2
Pick an employee contribution rate from the list (3%, 3.5%, 4%, 6%, 8% or 10%); 3.5% is the default rate from 1 April 2026. The government contribution line responds to this choice; the employer line does not.
- 3
Enter your current balance, current age and retirement age. The number of years is simply the difference between the two ages, and it cannot go below zero.
- 4
Type one expected annual return. The tool applies it as a flat gross rate every year, so enter a figure after fees and tax if you want those reflected. A return of 0 is accepted.
- 5
Read the projected balance first, then the monthly drawdown line, which is the balance divided by 240 months with no investment growth after retirement.
Frequently asked questions
How does this tool work out the government contribution?
It takes 25 cents for every dollar of your own contribution and caps the result at $260.72 a year, and shows nothing if the income you enter is above $180,000; these are the figures built into this tool for contributions from 1 July 2025 (they were 50 cents and $521.43 before that). At $30,000 income and a 3% rate you contribute $900, so the line shows $225. At $75,000 you contribute $2,625 at 3.5%, a quarter of that is $656, and the cap holds it at $261. The tool does not check your age, residency or whether you actually contributed across a full year, and employer money does not count towards it. Whether you receive the credit in practice is a matter for Inland Revenue and your provider.
Is the employer contribution always 3.5%?
In this tool, yes. The employer line is 3.5% of the income you enter, the minimum from 1 April 2026 (it is due to rise to 4% from 1 April 2028, which the tool does not model), whatever employee rate you pick, and no employer superannuation contribution tax is taken off it. That means the projection treats the employer money as going in gross. If your employer pays more than the minimum, or deducts tax before the money reaches your account, the real balance will differ from the projection.
How is growth applied each year?
For every year until retirement the tool multiplies the running balance by one plus your return and then adds a full year of contributions at the end. So a contribution earns nothing in the year it is made. Income, rates and contributions stay at today’s level for the whole period, which means there is no inflation adjustment and no pay rises. With a 0% return the maths is plain addition: a $60,000 balance plus 20 years of $7,261 gives $205,214.
What does the monthly drawdown figure mean?
It is the projected balance divided by 240 months, a 20-year spread with no investment return and no other income such as the government pension. On the default inputs, $452,565 divided by 240 is $1,886 a month. Treat it as a way to compare scenarios, not as a sustainable income estimate; a balance that keeps earning a return while you draw it down would last longer or pay more.
Does the projection include fees, tax on fund earnings or the choice of fund?
No. There is a single expected-return box, applied gross every year. Fund fees, tax on investment earnings and the difference between a conservative and a growth fund are not modelled separately. The practical workaround is to enter a return you believe is net of fees and tax; the 0% row in the table on this page shows how much of a balance comes from the return rather than from deposits.
What happens if retirement age is not later than current age?
The tool sets the number of years to zero, skips the growth loop and reports your current balance as the projected balance. The drawdown line then divides that balance by 240. It does not test withdrawal ages, early withdrawals for a first home, savings suspensions or any other access rule.
Why might my provider’s projection differ from this one?
Providers usually include salary growth, inflation, their own fee schedule and fund-specific return assumptions, none of which are here. The rates also matter: KiwiSaver settings and the government contribution are reviewed regularly, and this tool’s figures (the 2026-27 rates) are not updated automatically. Inland Revenue, your provider or a licensed adviser should be treated as the authority.
NZ KiwiSaver calculator — projecting a balance from contributions and return
What the projection actually adds up
Each year the tool adds three streams of money: your own contribution (income times the rate you pick), an employer contribution fixed at 3.5% of income, and a government line equal to a quarter of your contribution up to $260.72 (nil above $180,000 of income). These are the figures built into this tool for 2026-27. The sum is held constant, grown at one return rate, and compounded until your retirement age. Because contributions are added at the end of each year, nothing earns a return in the year it is paid.
Worked example: the default inputs and a 25-year-old on 6%
The default case is $75,000 income, a 3.5% rate, $20,000 saved, age 35 to 65 and a 5% return. It contributes $2,625 itself, receives $2,625 from the employer and $261 from the government, a total of $5,511 a year, and the tool projects $452,565. A second case uses $50,000 income, a 6% rate, no balance, age 25 to 65 and 6% growth. Here the member puts in $3,000, the employer $1,750 and the government $261, a total of $5,011, but the longer horizon and higher return lift the projection to $775,469. A similar yearly deposit, very different outcome: time and return did the work.
Five runs side by side
The table below shows five calculator runs, with the yearly total contribution and the projected balance. The third row uses a 0% return, so its balance is simple addition. The last row repeats the default case with a 10% employee rate; the extra $4,875 a year of own money is what separates $452,565 from $776,454.
| Income, rate, balance, ages, return | Total contributions a year | Projected balance |
|---|---|---|
| $75,000, 3.5%, $20,000, 35 to 65, 5% | $5,511 | $452,565 |
| $50,000, 6%, $0, 25 to 65, 6% | $5,011 | $775,469 |
| $100,000, 3.5%, $60,000, 45 to 65, 0% | $7,261 | $205,214 |
| $30,000, 3.5%, $5,000, 30 to 65, 4% | $2,361 | $193,603 |
| $75,000, 10%, $20,000, 35 to 65, 5% | $10,386 | $776,454 |
Where the government line stops mattering
The cap is reached when your own contribution hits $1,042.86 a year, so at the 3.5% rate it is reached at an income of about $29,800, and higher rates reach it at lower incomes. In the $30,000 row above the line is $261, at the cap. Above the cap, extra contributions add only your own money and the employer’s fixed 3.5% never changes, so the benefit of moving from 3.5% to 10% comes almost entirely from the compounding of your own deposits. Above $180,000 of income the tool shows no government line at all.
What this estimate leaves out
Fees, tax on fund earnings, pay rises, inflation, employer tax on contributions, the choice of fund and any early withdrawal are not modelled. The settings and rules around KiwiSaver change at least every year, the tool’s tables are not updated automatically, and Inland Revenue, your provider or a qualified adviser decides what applies to you. Use the number to compare options, not to plan a retirement income.
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Results are estimates for informational purposes only and do not constitute professional financial, medical, legal, or technical advice. Read full disclaimer →