If you are an employer, you need to be aware that from 1 February 2026 your employees who are KiwiSaver members can apply for a temporary rate reduction in advance of the default rate increases coming in April 2026.
1 February 2026 changes
From 1 February, KiwiSaver members will be able to apply for a temporary KiwiSaver rate reduction.
This is ahead of increases to compulsory KiwiSaver contribution rates, which will take effect from 1 April 2026.
The rate reduction will not take effect until an employee’s first pay on or after 1 April 2026.
You will be notified
As an employer, you will be notified – either by your employee or Inland Revenue – of any KiwiSaver rate reductions that need to be applied to your payroll from 1 April.
You will receive:
- a certificate from your employee showing the period they have an active rate reduction for, or
- a letter from Inland Revenue advising which employee has been granted a temporary rate reduction and the periods they’ve been granted it for.
You can match your employee’s rate
As an employer, you will be able to match your employee’s temporary rate reduction.
Once your employee moves to a higher contribution rate, you will need to increase your employer contributions to the default 3.5% rate that comes into effect on 1 April, or whatever higher rate you choose.
Read more
The IRD website contains more information about the changes to KiwiSaver, with additional links for you to follow.
