So unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard about this thing called KiwiSaver. You probably also have money from your pay going into it every week but you figure it’ll just do its thing in the background and you don’t have to worry about right? Wrong.

If you want more moolah when you’re ready to down tools and kick back, have a read of the below and see what it’s all about.

So what is KiwiSaver?

KiwiSaver is something the government created that helps Kiwis save for retirement. When you’re in KiwiSaver, you and your employer put in some cash when you get paid, and the government chucks in 50c for every dollar you put in up to $521.43.

You can choose to put in 3%, 4%, 6%, 8% or 10% of your earnings so the choice is yours.

When you turn 65, you can take out the cold hard cash you’ve been saving for all these years and use it for whatever you want!

How does it work?

Even though it’s called KiwiSaver,  it’s more of an investment – you know, shares and market rates, blah blah. But the best thing is, it’s all managed for you. Once you set up what kind of fund you want and how much risk you’re keen to take on, your KiwiSaver funds are managed according to that. It’s a good idea to change it up if you get a pay rise or you’re looking to buy your first home though.

Because the market can go up and down, your KiwiSaver savings can too. Just don’t make the mistake of freaking out every time you see it’s a bit lower – you’ve most likely got 30 more years or so for it to sort itself out and it can just as easily go up again!

Benefits

• Free money from the government
• Your boss has to contribute too
• You can use your KiwiSaver cash to help buy your first home

Fund types

• Defensive fund – low risk but low growth, good if you’re going to use your funds in the next three years
• Conservative fund – lower risk but lower growth, good if you’re going to take out your cash within two to six years
• Balanced fund – medium risk and medium growth, good if you’ll be using your savings in the next five to twelve years
• Growth fund – higher risk but higher growth, good if you’re going to wait at least 10 years before taking any cash out
• Aggressive fund – high risk and high growth, good if you don’t plan to withdraw anything for the next 10 years or so

Head spinning?

Give one of our KiwiSaver pros a call and we’ll sort you and your KiwiSaver out!