KiwiSaver membership grows to over 2,530,000

The number of KiwiSaver enrolments continues to rise in the over-18 year old target population, with an additional 11,656 members in the month of June, Finance Minister Bill English and Revenue Minister Todd McClay say.

“Removing the taxpayer-funded kick-start incentive in Budget 2015 was not expected to affect the number of working-age people joining a KiwiSaver scheme,” Mr English says.

“The figures released today are consistent with that assessment, although it is only one month’s data and we will have to see how this plays out over coming months.”

The additional 11,656 over-18s enrolled in KiwiSaver in June is down slightly on the 14,657 in May. Over the last year, the monthly figure has ranged from 11,021 to 18,218.

“Registrations of over-18s in June were lower than in May – in part because on Budget Day providers cleared backlogs of applications already in the system to ensure those people received the kick-start payment,” Mr McClay says.

“Inland Revenue received more than 2,800 enrolments effective May 21, compared with a typical daily amount of around 400. Clearing that backlog meant there were fewer applications to be processed in June.”

There are now over 2,530,000 KiwiSaver members.

As expected, the removal of the one-off $1,000 kick-start has reduced the incentive to register children in the scheme – and there has been a drop-off in the number of under-18s signing up for KiwiSaver in June.

“The life-time value of employer contributions, together with the annual $521 subsidies available for employees and the self-employed, means there continue to be strong incentives for the target population aged 18 and over to participate in KiwiSaver,” Mr McClay says.