Cooking the Books podcast: Why KiwiSaver needs to change

KiwiSaver could be working harder for New Zealanders.

Each week, BusinessDesk and the NZ Herald’s Cooking the Books podcast tackle a different money problem. Today, it’s how your KiwiSaver could be working harder for you. Hosted by Frances Cook.

Let’s start with the good - I’m a huge fan of KiwiSaver. It helps you save up for a first home or retirement, when it can be daunting to do so by yourself.

It’s also full of little sweeteners, such as the employer contribution and Government contribution, which can double your money from the start.

But now on to the bad, and look, there are some dark clouds.

When you look at KiwiSaver compared to other countries, it could be doing more for us.

The amount you put in is quite low, so you could think you’re dutifully saving for retirement and still come up short once you hit the golden years.

The Government contribution is nice and all, but you do still get taxed on the money going in, while other countries give much higher tax breaks to help your savings go further.

For the latest podcast, I talked to Sharesies co-founder and co-chief executive Leighton Roberts.

For the interview, listen to the podcast here.

• If you have a question about this podcast, or a question you’d like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I’m on Facebook here, Instagram here, and X here.

• Listen to the full interview on the Cooking the Books podcast. You can subscribe on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.