Your KiwiSaver fund is likely to be one of your biggest assets, and therefore deserves care and attention, as Liv Lewis-Long explains.

Lucky enough to be on the housing ladder? You probably have a fair idea what your house is worth. You likely know your mortgage rate too, and when it next rolls over. But how much is in your KiwiSaver? What type of fund is it invested in? How much are you paying in fees each year? And does your provider suit your needs?

If you had to stop and think about any of those, you’re in good company. For many of us in the thick of building careers, raising families and paying down mortgages, KiwiSaver has quietly become our second-biggest asset. It may even be our biggest, if we don’t own property.

Despite that, plenty of Kiwis rarely look at it – let alone check whether it’s set up to give them the best chance to help plan and reach their retirement goals.

KiwiSaver has grown up

KiwiSaver isn’t the modest little scheme it was when it launched in the 2000s. At the end of December 2025, according to Melville Jessup Weaver (MJW) and IRD data, there was around $138 billion in KiwiSaver funds under management across more than 3.4 million members. That’s some serious numbers, even if we remain well behind our mates across the Tasman.

For someone in their forties or fifties, an individual balance can now be substantial. The latest figures from Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission put the average at $43,187 for 41 to 45-year-olds, $55,010 for 46 to 50-year-olds, and $65,873 for 51 to 55-year-olds.

And because those are averages, plenty of people will already be well into six figures, particularly if they’ve contributed consistently and haven’t made a first-home withdrawal. Which naturally raises the question: am I ahead or behind? “Average KiwiSaver balance by age” is a common search, and I understand the appeal. But it doesn’t necessarily tell you whether your own retirement savings are on track.

“Average” can be a risky benchmark

KiwiSaver balances are climbing, up 11.3 per cent from the end of 2024 to an overall average of $41,286 at the end of December 2025, according to the MJW review. That sounds encouraging, and in many ways it is. But “average” and “on track” aren’t the same thing.

An average only tells you where other people are sitting. It says nothing about your goals, your time frame, your mortgage, your other assets or the lifestyle you dream of in retirement. A 42-year-old sitting on the average balance could be comfortably ahead or way behind, depending on their wider financial picture.

The useful question isn’t whether you’re beating the general population. It’s whether you’re building enough for the retirement you want. Sorted’s retirement calculator and Massey University’s NZ Retirement Expenditure Guidelines are two useful, free places to start. How much you’ll need depends on several factors, including where you live, marital status, whether you own your home, and how much travel or other discretionary spending you hope to enjoy. Whatever your number turns out to be, it will tell you far more than knowing you’re slightly above or below average.

Are you in the right fund?

There are three checks I think everyone should do. They’re also three things Jennie O’Donovan and I find ourselves talking about regularly on the Money Made Simple podcast.

The first is whether you’re in the right KiwiSaver fund. It’s a simple question worth revisiting as your life changes: does your fund suit your time frame and your appetite for risk?

Some Kiwis are still sitting in a lower-risk fund they were placed in when they joined – which might be better suited to shorter time frames, even though they may have decades before they expect to withdraw their money. Others have the opposite issue. They may be in an aggressive fund when a major withdrawal, such as a first-home deposit or retirement drawdown, is only a year or two away.

No fund type is automatically right or wrong. The issue is whether yours was chosen deliberately, based on your circumstances, or whether you ended up there by default and never looked again. A fund you’ve chosen for your current stage of life is likely to be doing a more appropriate job than one you drifted into years ago.

The fees you may not notice

The second check is understanding what you’re paying in fees. Most of us know compounding can help grow our money over time. What’s less obvious is that fees compound too, only in the other direction.

The maths is worth paying attention to. On a $50,000 balance, the difference between paying 0.25 per cent and around 1.05 per cent in management fees is roughly $400 in one year. That may not sound dramatic on its own. But these costs repeat year after year, and compound. Keeping things simple for illustrative purposes, paying 1 per cent more in fees on a $50,000 balance growing at around 7 per cent over 30 years could leave you with around $130,000 less in this simplified example.

According to the Financial Markets Authority (FMA), New Zealanders paid $868.5 million in KiwiSaver fees in the year to March 2025. Like the total amount invested in KiwiSaver, that isn’t a small number.

I can’t tell you what your fund should charge, and fees shouldn’t be considered in isolation. The useful exercise is to find out what you’re paying, compare it with what else is available, and understand what value you receive in return. You may decide you’re perfectly happy. You may not. Either way, at least it will be an informed decision.

3.5 per cent feels like progress. Is it enough?

The third check is your contribution rate.

In April 2026, the default employee contribution rate increased from 3 per cent to 3.5 per cent, and it’s set to reach 4 per cent in 2028. Seeing your take-home pay fall may not have been especially welcome. But for our collective retirement savings, I think the increase is a good thing. If you contribute at the default rate, you’re now putting away a little more without having taken any action. The risk is assuming the default must therefore be the right amount for you.

Default rates are a floor, not a personal retirement target. The NZ Society of Actuaries has been openly debating whether even 6 per cent from you, plus 6 per cent from your employer, would be enough for many Kiwis. They also acknowledged higher contribution rates won’t suit everyone, particularly lower earners for whom every extra percentage point affects life today.

It’s also worth remembering that the annual government contribution has been halved to a maximum of $260.72 and removed entirely for earners over $180,000. To me, that’s another reason not to put your KiwiSaver on autopilot. Your contribution rate is one of the clearest levers you can adjust to improve your future savings, if you can afford to.

Treat it like the serious asset it is

None of this is a reason to panic or start checking your balance every morning. Please don’t. Daily market movements are rarely useful information for a long-term investor. The point is that KiwiSaver deserves the same occasional attention you’d give any other major asset.

Log in. Check your fund type, your fees and contribution rate. Work out roughly what you may need in retirement, and whether your current settings are likely to get you there. Then you can leave it to do its job while you get on with the rest of your life.
And if the numbers leave you unsure about what to do next, that’s exactly what independent financial advice is there for.

The information provided and personal opinions expressed in this article are intended for general guidance only and not personalised to you. These materials do not take into account your particular financial situation or goals and are not financial advice or a recommendation.