First KiwiSaver cheques mainly govt money

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KiwiSaver fund managers were the benefactors of the government's generosity when they received their first contribution cheques at the start of this month.

Sunday, October 14th 2007, 10:18PM

In October $41 million in KiwiSaver funds were transferred to fund managers. The bulk of this money was not investor contributions, rather it was government money.

Of that transfer $32 million was government contributions that include the $1,000 kick-start and half the $40 annual fee subsidy.

This means only $9 million was actual savings. 212,794 people enrolled in the scheme, and that figure is a 64% increase in enrolments since the end of August.

Of those people enrolled:

• 101,748 people actively chose a provider and went directly to a scheme to enrol
• 67,028 people actively chose to join KiwiSaver and enrolled via their employer
• 44,018 new employees were automatically enrolled by their employer. However, 21,113 opt-outs also received.

Demographic data indicates that while the KiwiSaver enrolment rate increases as people near 65 years of age, almost half (49%) of people joining KiwiSaver are younger than 45. Members under 20 years of age are 8.6% of the total.

"KiwiSaver is off to a very good start, and it is encouraging that so many people have decided joining KiwiSaver is the right choice for them. The latest enrolment numbers reinforce that KiwiSaver is a simple and appealing way to save for retirement for a broad range of New Zealanders," Finance minister Michael Cullen and Revenue minister Peter Dunne, say in a statement.

« KiwiSaver enrolments exceed 200,000

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