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New Zealand only

When adding an employee, you can set up their KiwiSaver contributions via the KiwiSaver tab (Payroll menu > Employees > click the employee > KiwiSaver tab).

KiwiSaver contributions are divided into two portions:

• Employee contributions - these are deducted from the employee’s pay
• Employer contributions - these are paid by the employer on top of the employee’s pay, and are subject to Employer Superannuation Contribution Tax (ESCT).

Active and inactive KiwiSaver members

All new employees should be automatically enrolled in KiwiSaver (see exceptions). They can opt out of KiwiSaver by completing a KS10 form and sending it to the IRD within two weeks of starting employment.

Employees not enrolled in KiwiSaver can opt-in by completing a KS2 form and sending it to the IRD. Learn more about opting in and out of KiwiSaver.

Contribution holidays

Employees apply for a contribution holiday by sending a KS2 form to the IRD. You will be notified if a contribution holiday is granted, either by the IRD or by the employee. During a contribution holiday, you need to stop deducting KiwiSaver contributions from the employee’s pay, and you are not required to make any employer contributions.

You will be notified when the contributions holiday ends and you need to resume contributions.

Contribution rate

For all active KiwiSaver members, a percentage of pay must be deducted for KiwiSaver contributions. The minimum legal contribution is 3% of an employee’s pay, but they may choose to contribute either 4%, 6%, 8% or 10% instead. Your employee will inform you if they want to change their contribution rate.

Employer contribution rate

If your employee is an active KiwiSaver member, you are required to make employer KiwiSaver contributions of at least 3% of the employee’s pay. These contributions are subject to Employer Superannuation Contribution Tax (ESCT).

If your employee is on a contributions holiday, you are not required to make any employer contributions, but you may still choose to do so.

Employer Superannuation Contributions Tax (ESCT)

All employer contributions are subject to ESCT. The amount of ESCT to be paid on your employer KiwiSaver contributions depends on your employee’s annual salary.

Use the dropdown on the KiwiSaver tab of the Employee record to select the appropriate rate, based on the employee’s expected annual salary.

Need help working this out?

The easiest way is to combine the employee's annual salary or wage with your gross annual employer contributions. This is easy if the employee worked the entire previous tax year as you'll know these numbers.

If the employee worked only part (or none) of the previous tax year, the ESCT rate is the estimate of their total salary or wage, plus the employer contributions you'll make to them in the current income year. If you're still stuck, there's more details and examples on the Inland Revenue website.

Any ESCT amounts will be automatically included when you process the employee’s pay, based on your selections on the  KiwiSaver  tab for each employee.

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