Gender pay gap and not contribution rates disadvantage women on KiwiSaver

AUT used Stats NZ’s new integrated data infrastructure (IDI), which covers KiwiSaver contribution rates from April 2019, for its analysis. The Retirement Commission says the new research complements a 2022 study it commissioned from Melville Jessup Weaver.

While the latter looked at KiwiSaver balances across a range of demographics, the new research examines contribution rates across different demographic groups.

Despite women contributing to KiwiSaver at about the same rate as men, women are putting away 36% less per year.