Fisher Funds' personalised retirement projector tool (the “projector”) is designed to help you understand how your current KiwiSaver savings could grow over time and the income those savings may provide during retirement.
How this projector works
We use information associated with your account (including your age, current KiwiSaver balance, investment strategy, and recent contribution activity) together with the assumptions below to calculate your results. Where appropriate, these assumptions reflect those set by the Government under the Financial Markets Conduct Regulations 2014 for KiwiSaver retirement projections.
The projector estimates:
your KiwiSaver balance at retirement (age 65); and
the weekly retirement income that KiwiSaver balance could provide from age 65 to age 90. You can choose whether to include income from NZ Superannuation (NZ Super) in your retirement income.
Unless otherwise stated, the projector assumes your current investment strategy and contribution settings remain unchanged. Actual results are likely to differ from the estimates shown.
Key assumptions
1. Investment returns
The projector uses the following annual rates of return (after fees and tax), based on your investment strategy:
Investment strategy | Rate of Return |
|---|---|
Cash | 1.5% |
Core Conservative | 2.5% |
Conservative | 2.5% |
Default | 3.5% |
Balanced | 3.5% |
Growth | 4.5% |
Aggressive | 5.5% |
GlidePath if you are under age 50 | 3.5% |
GlidePath if you are age 50 years and over | 2.5% |
Returns from age 65 | 2.5% |
2. Inflation
All results are shown in today's dollars and are adjusted for inflation at 2% per year.
This means the dollar amounts you actually contribute or receive in the future are likely to be higher than those shown but are expected to have similar purchasing power to today's dollars.
For example, something that costs $1,000 today would cost approximately $1,220 in 10 years' time if inflation averaged 2% per year.
3. Your estimated KiwiSaver balance
We estimate your KiwiSaver balance at retirement using the assumptions below.
Withdrawals
The projector assumes you will not make any withdrawals before retirement at age 65, and does not include any first home withdrawals.
Employee and employer contributions
We estimate your future contributions using the average employee and employer contributions received during the previous three months. This average is used to project your employee and employer contributions we expect you to receive each year until age 65.
We assume employee and employer contributions increase by 3.5% each year until age 65 and are received at the end of each calendar year.
If we assume you are contributing at the default KiwiSaver contribution rate of 3.5%, the projector automatically applies the increase to 4% that is coming into effect from 1 April 2028.
To determine whether Government Contributions are included in your projection, we estimate your salary or wages based on the employer contributions. We assume your employer contributions are 3.5% of your salary or wages, being the default employer contribution rate. We also estimate your employee contribution rate based on the amount of employee contributions received.
If your contribution rate is higher than 3.5%, our estimated salary, wages, and tax rate may differ from your actual salary or wages and tax rate. If we have not received any employee or employer contributions during the previous three months, we assume your salary or wages are $0.
The projector does not take into account any other taxable income you may receive.
Voluntary contributions
We estimate your voluntary contributions using the voluntary contributions received in the last 12 months, where your account has been open for more than 12 months. If your account has been open for less than 12 months, we use the voluntary contributions received to date, capped at $1,500. We assume you will continue to contribute each year until age 65, and that your voluntary contributions increase by 3.5% each year.
Government contributions
The projector assumes Government Contributions are received from age 16 at the current rate of 25 cents for each dollar you contribute, up to a maximum of $260.72 for each Government Contribution year (1 July to 30 June), until age 65.
If your projected income is expected to exceed $180,000 in the future (based on an assumed annual salary or wage increase of 3.5%), Government Contributions will no longer be included in the projection from the year your income exceeds that threshold.
If your annual taxable income is over $180,000, you are not eligible for Government Contributions.
$20 boost tool
The $20 boost tool shows the powerful impact of contributing an additional $20 per week until age 65. You can find this tool on the “Accounts” tab in Fisher Funds Online.
The $20 boost tool uses the same account information and assumptions as your retirement projection. It shows your projection if you invest an additional $20 a week ($1,040 per year) on top of your projected voluntary contributions. It assumes those additional contributions are invested in the same investment strategy as your existing Fisher Funds KiwiSaver Plan savings.
Because the additional contributions may earn investment returns over time, the increase in your projected balance at age 65 may be greater than the additional amount contributed.
The tool assumes the additional contribution starts at $20 per week and increases by 2% each year, in line with inflation.
Your estimated retirement income
Your retirement income estimates represent the after-tax weekly income that your retirement savings could provide from age 65 to age 90.
The projector assumes that:
your savings remain invested from the age of 65 and earn 2.5% per year; and
you make regular withdrawals from your savings throughout retirement so that your balance is fully used by age 90.
4. New Zealand Superannuation
The projector includes the option to add NZ Superannuation (NZ Super) to your estimated retirement income.
If you choose this option, the projector uses a NZ Super payment of $555.15 per week, based on the after-tax ("M" tax code) rate for a single person living alone as at 1 April 2026.
The projector assumes you begin receiving NZ Super at age 65 and continue receiving NZ Super until age 90.
For current NZ Super payment rates, visit the Work and Income website.
How KiwiSaver projections in annual statements work
Your annual statement also includes a retirement projection showing:
your projected balance at age 65; and
the estimated weekly retirement income that balance could provide until age 90.
The retirement projection included in your annual statement may differ from projections shown in Fisher Funds Online, the Fisher Funds mobile app, or the public projector. This is because the annual statement projection is based on assumptions set by the Government in the Financial Markets Conduct Regulations 2014 that do not necessarily take into account your personal situation. The assumptions used in the projector may change from time to time, including where the Government assumptions are updated.