KiwiSaver Projection Calculator

How it works

Each year: balance × (1 + r) + (salary × your rate + salary × 3% × (1 − ESCT) + min($260.72, 25% × your contribution)) grown for half a year

KiwiSaver balances grow from four streams: your own contributions, the employer’s compulsory 3% (taxed at your ESCT rate first, which is why it lands as less than 3%), the government contribution of 25 cents per dollar up to $260.72 a year for members under 65 earning below $180,000, and investment returns. Using a real (after-inflation) return keeps the answer in today’s purchasing power. Returns depend heavily on the fund type — growth funds have higher long-run averages but bigger swings, so the default 4% real is a middle-of-the-road balanced-to-growth assumption after fees.

Worked example

Age 32, $25,000 saved, $70,000 salary at 3%, 4% real return, 2% pay growth: about $420,000 at 65 in today’s dollars, of which roughly $97,000 is your own money and $66,000 came from your employer.

Frequently asked questions