Eligible KiwiSaver members can receive up to $260.72 a year from the government, but only if they meet the contribution threshold by 30 June. Milford Senior Client Services Associate Maddie Cruickshank joins Ryan Bridge to explain how the contribution works and what to check before the deadline to ensure you don’t miss out.
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Bridge talks Business: 2 June 2026
Episode Transcript
Ryan Bridge
Kia ora and welcome to Episode 78 of Bridge talks Business with Milford. Great to have you. This week we’re back talking to Maddie Cruickshank from Milford. As you know from the last time we spoke to Maddie, she’s across all the detail on KiwiSaver, and this week she’s making sure that we all get our full government contribution. This week we have a new top five for you, the top five lessons from globally-leading companies.
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- Relentless focus beats broad ambition. The best companies win by doing fewer things but exceptionally well. Think Apple’s discipline for example, a tight product ecosystem, no endless diversification, focus creates clarity and brand strength and power.
- Reinvention isn’t optional. Even market leaders behave like challengers. Think Microsoft and their pivot to cloud under their new CEO. It is a textbook case proving that long-term success depends on the willingness to disrupt your own model before someone else does.
- Customer obsession drives everything. Amazon didn’t just prioritise customers, it built its entire operating model around them – from logistics to product design. Leading companies treat customer experience as strategy, not just a function.
- Speed is a competitive advantage. Tesla and Nvidia show that moving fast on innovation, on iteration and decision-making, creates outsized gains in fast-moving markets being early and learning quickly often beats being perfect.
- Culture is the ultimate differentiator. Strategy can be copied, culture can’t. Whether it’s Microsoft’s growth mindset or Nvidia’s engineering intensity, high performing cultures win hands down every time.
All right, this week, Maddie is back, Maddie Cruickshank, Senior Associate Investor Services at Milford, back to talk to us about KiwiSaver and this time we’re looking at the government contribution. How do you make sure you get this money, your hands on this money that you otherwise wouldn’t get? What do you need to do as a KiwiSaver member? Just a reminder, this segment is informational only and should not be considered financial advice. Maddie, welcome back. It’s lovely to see you.
Maddie Cruickshank
Nice to see you too, Ryan.
Ryan Bridge
Now let’s talk about this contribution, this government contribution.
Maddie Cruickshank
Yes
Ryan Bridge
So what exactly has changed? Because it all changed about a year ago from now, right?
Maddie Cruickshank
Yeah, first of July last year, correct.
Ryan Bridge
So what changed?
Maddie Cruickshank
Yeah, so what changed was the government now adds 25 cents to every dollar that you put in. So previously it was 50 cents, when now it’s 25. So the maximum that you’ll get is $260.72. There are a couple of important eligibility criteria that we get people to check as well. So if you still put in your $1,042.86, you’ll get that $260.
Ryan Bridge
Okay. So it’s basically, it’s less than what was on offer from the government contribution point of view. What about the eligibility? It’s sort of age and income related, isn’t it?
Maddie Cruickshank
That’s right. So there’s been a great change. So now 16 and 17 year olds qualify for the government contribution. So this is the first time that they’re going to benefit from it. Previously it was 18 and above. So you’ve got a couple more years now of maximizing government contributions, which is perfect. But if you do earn more than $180,000 in the taxable income year, you are now no longer eligible for that government contribution at all. So it is worth knowing where you stand with those changes.
Ryan Bridge
A hundred percent. So as you say, that is good news. If you’re a young person and you’ve got a long time to your retirement, but the more, I guess, incentive you can have to enter early would be better, right?
Maddie Cruickshank
Oh, most definitely. And you know, most 16, 17-year-olds are now working too. So naturally that will look after that government contribution amount too.
Ryan Bridge
What do you say to people, Maddie, who might be a little sceptical about this, who might think, oh, well, that amount that you get from the government is going down. So why do I even bother? You know, let’s bin the whole thing.
Maddie Cruickshank
Yeah, I can, I can see why people would think that, but we like to shift that focus to every bit counts towards retirement. So if there’s still money up for grabs and you’re eligible for it, why wouldn’t you do it? Naturally, you’re going to be putting in that $1,042.86 from your salary or, you know, as an automatic payment. Still take advantage of it.
Ryan Bridge
How do you make sure, because we’re coming up to sort of early June now, coming up to the end of June, that tax year, how do we make sure that we get the full contribution?
Maddie Cruickshank
So while partnering with Milford, we do send out reminders. So it’s one of the great benefits of being with us is as the year comes to an end for the government contribution, we actually will let you know whether you’re on track or whether you need to top up. So keep an eye on your emails as well. We also put a great tool in our portal as well that will help you manually check if you’re on track as well.
Ryan Bridge
What are some common questions you get, Maddie? I mean, coming up to this time of year, people are, it’s sort of fun to mind for people, I think. Their KiwiSaver balances and how they’ve performed over the year. What are some common questions that you get from clients that you speak to?
Maddie Cruickshank
Yeah, so common questions would be, “have I put in enough?” Which we can check that for you or the tool will let you know. Second of all is does my employee or contributions count towards that $1,042.86? And no, it doesn’t. So it’s just your contributions alone. Those are the real common questions that we get this time of the year. And “do I also need to claim that money myself?” No as the fund manager will claim that for you.
Ryan Bridge
Right. So you just need to make sure you’ve focused on how much you’ve contributed. Yep. And then your employer should be doing their bit and the government will come to the party and do their bit.
Maddie Cruickshank
Correct.
Ryan Bridge
And Milford will take care of all of that.
Maddie Cruickshank
Exactly. So it’s a win-win. And I always like to tell people, as long as you know, you’re putting in around twenty one dollars a week into your KiwiSaver, that will be enough for that full amount from the government.
Ryan Bridge
What is your top tip? Because you deal with clients on a daily basis. Your team has interactions with clients on a regular basis. What is your biggest piece of advice for clients when they’re calling through to you? And they’re, you know, they’re curious about questions about this stuff.
Maddie Cruickshank
So I would say the hottest bit of information that we give people is stay in the course. So leave it up to the experts. Don’t check your account daily. You know, we’ve been going through a really volatile time at the moment. We all know how scary that can be. But put trust into it. You know, lean into it. Know that Milford is doing everything that they can to mitigate risk during this time. You keep putting your money in and buying units at a cheaper price. And effectively, you will see it bounce back over time.
Ryan Bridge
Because it’s a long term game, isn’t it, KiwiSaver?
Maddie Cruickshank
It is.
Ryan Bridge
I think if you, as you say, if you’re looking at your balance every day, you can get a bit fixated.
Maddie Cruickshank
Yeah. And you know, we are only human. We want to know what our money is doing for us. But if you’ve got 40 years on your side till retirement, even, you know, 20 or 30, it’s still such a long investment time frame. We will go through another cycle of this. And you know, know that we’re all in it together.
Ryan Bridge
Maddie, thank you very much for being with me again. Lovely to talk to you. And thank you for always putting me at ease.
Maddie Cruickshank
Oh, no, thank you.
Ryan Bridge
That was Maddie Cruickshank who is Senior Associate Investor Services at Milford, talking to us about what you need to do to make sure that you are getting that government contribution to your KiwiSaver. Basically, if you’re with Milford, nothing, just making sure that you as an individual are contributing the minimum amount. That’s it for us for this week. Don’t forget you can like, follow and subscribe the podcast wherever you like to listen. Until next week, don’t forget to invest in yourselves.
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