By Eliana Heo, Research Intern - Simplicity Research Hub


Article summary

New Zealand’s retirement income system faces mounting pressure as our population ages and inequality deepens. By 2100, there will be only two workers supporting each retiree, compared with four today and eight back in 1950. This raises tough questions about how future pensions will be funded.

KiwiSaver can play a much bigger role than just helping individuals save for retirement. Done well, it can strengthen national savings, reduce future tax burdens, and spread opportunity more fairly across generations. But to do so, the system needs to evolve.

International examples show what’s possible. In Singapore, saving starts at birth, helping children build assets and security early. In Australia, higher compulsory contributions and significant investment in infrastructure have grown the national capital base. The Netherlands demonstrates the long-term benefits of steady, universal contributions, which deliver strong retirement outcomes and fiscal resilience.

For New Zealand, the opportunities are clear. Lifting contribution rates, starting savings earlier, and enabling KiwiSaver funds to invest more locally, in productive, sustainable assets such as housing and green infrastructure could significantly strengthen both our economy and our society. At the same time, more inclusive policies are needed to ensure that low-income and part-time workers don’t miss out, otherwise KiwiSaver risks reinforcing inequality rather than reducing it.

Strengthening the savings system to deliver sustainable and equitable retirement outcomes is within our grasp, but only if today’s leaders look beyond the next election cycle and commit to mechanisms that hold them accountable to the future. With deliberate, long-term attention, we can build larger balances for individuals, ease pressure on public finances, and support greater social cohesion. Most importantly, we can give the New Zealanders born today a fair chance at financial security in 2100.

Download the full article here ↓

Or you can find it in Policy Quarterly – Volume 21, Issue 3 – August 2025


Eliana Heo is a third-year student at Harvard College, concentrating in government and economics. Originally from Auckland, she spent her summer break as a research intern with Simplicity Research Hub and Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission. Her research focused on the long-term economic benefits of retirement savings systems and advancing intergenerational equity in New Zealand.

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