Each year, eligible KiwiSaver members can receive a Government contribution to their KiwiSaver account of up to $521.43.

Are you eligible?

To be eligible to receive the Government contribution you must:

  • Be aged 18 years or older and not yet eligible for retirement withdrawals, and
  • Mainly residing in New Zealand during the year (there is an exception for government employees who are serving outside New Zealand and any person working overseas as a volunteer, or for token payment, for a charitable organisation)

If you’re only eligible for part of the year, your Government contribution will be pro-rated based on the number of days you were eligible in the year.

How to maximise your Government contribution

To incentivise people to contribute to their KiwiSaver account, the Government will contribute 50 cents for every dollar, on the first $1,042.86 that you contribute to your account each year (the KiwiSaver year runs from 1 July to 30 June).

For example, if you contribute $100 over the year the Government will contribute $50. If you contribute $1,042.86 the Government will contribute $521.43. But this is where they stop. So, if you contribute $2,000 over the year, the Government will still only contribute $521.43.

Please note, the Government contribution only applies to your own contributions – being employee contributions and any voluntary contributions you have made. It does not apply to your employer’s contributions.

How to determine if you’ve contributed enough

You should receive the full Government contribution if you’ve been in KiwiSaver for the full year (1 July to 30 June) and:

  1. You’re employed
  2. You earn over $35,000 per year
  3. You’ve contributed at least 3% to your KiwiSaver account

Alternatively, if you’re not employed or you’re self-employed, you can ensure you’ve contributed enough for the full Government contribution by voluntarily contributing at least $1,042.86 to your account during the year (1 July to 30 June). These contributions can be done as multiple contributions over the course of the year, or as a one-off contribution. It doesn’t matter. But you must make sure your contributions are received by your provider before the 25th of June each year, as it can take several business days for contributions to be processed.

If you are unsure, you can check your employee contributions via your ‘MyIR login’  at www.ird.govt.nz/kiwisaver  (go to “View transactions” and filter on transaction type “Deductions from salary/wages” and the date range from 01/07/2019 to 30/06/2020).

When will the Government contribution be paid?

You don’t have to do anything else. We’ll claim the Government contribution on your behalf and it will be paid into your KiwiSaver account around late July. 

How to increase your Milford KiwiSaver contributions

You can increase your contributions to the Milford KiwiSaver Plan in several ways:

  • Tell your employer to increase your contribution rate – You can set your contribution rate at either 3%, 4%, 6%, 8% or 10% of your salary or wages. Simply fill in this form and give it to your employer.
  • Set up a Direct Debit – Click here to set up automatic regular payments from your bank account straight into your KiwiSaver account.
  • Direct credit via your online banking – Set up regular payments or do a one-off payment via your online banking straight into your KiwiSaver account using the following details:
    • Bank account name: Milford KiwiSaver Plan
    • Account number: 02 0500 0966274 00
    • Payer reference: Investor’s name, Milford account number (e.g. MLxxxxx)

Have other questions?

If you have any other questions please contact our Investor Services team at [email protected] or 0800 662 346.