How do NZ Super and KiwiSaver work together?

NZ Super provides a base government income from 65, and you draw down your KiwiSaver balance on top to lift your income to the level you want. Together they form most people's retirement income, alongside any other savings.

How much can my KiwiSaver add each year?

It depends on your balance, how long you want it to last, and the return on the money still invested. Drawing it down over a set number of years gives a regular income; the larger the balance and the longer it lasts, the more it adds.

Will my KiwiSaver run out?

If you draw a fixed income that exhausts the balance over your chosen period, yes, by design. Drawing less, or only the returns, makes it last longer. This tool spreads the balance evenly over the years you choose.

NZ Super plus KiwiSaver Combined Income Calculator

This calculator estimates your total retirement income in New Zealand by combining NZ Super with a drawdown of your KiwiSaver balance, giving you a single figure to plan around. For most Kiwis, retirement income is built from two main blocks: NZ Super, the government pension paid from sixty-five, which provides a steady base, and your own savings, chiefly KiwiSaver, which you draw down on top to reach the lifestyle you want. Seeing them together, rather than separately, is what tells you whether your retirement adds up. You enter your annual NZ Super after tax, your KiwiSaver balance at retirement, the number of years you want the KiwiSaver to last, and the return you expect on the money still invested, and the calculator works out the annual income your KiwiSaver can provide by spreading it over those years, adds NZ Super, and shows your total annual and weekly retirement income along with the KiwiSaver and Super portions. Use it to check whether the combination meets your target, and to see how drawing your KiwiSaver faster or slower changes the income. Bear in mind a fixed drawdown that empties the balance over the chosen years will, by design, run out at the end, so weigh longevity carefully. NZ Super rates change; use current figures. General information, not advice.

NZ Super a year (after tax)

KiwiSaver balance

Drawdown years

Return on balance

$43,003

total retirement income a year

NZ Super$27,000

KiwiSaver drawdown$16,003

Per week$827

KiwiSaver income spreads the balance over the years you choose, so it runs out at the end by design. NZ Super continues for life. Use current Super rates. General information only.

How it works

The KiwiSaver drawdown income is the level annual amount that draws your balance down to zero over the chosen years while the remaining balance earns your return, using the standard payment formula. Adding your annual NZ Super gives your total annual income, and dividing by 52 gives the weekly figure.

Worked example

With 27,000 dollars of NZ Super and a 250,000 dollar KiwiSaver drawn down over 25 years at 4 percent, the KiwiSaver adds about 16,003 dollars a year, for a total of about 43,003 dollars a year, or roughly 827 dollars a week.

Related calculators

NZ Super Income Gap: the gap to fill.
How Long Will Money Last: drawdown length.
KiwiSaver at 65: tax-free access.
Retirement Calculator: full planning.

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