Just two months after the government cancelled the $1,000 kickstart sign-on payment, KiwiSaver growth in the 24-and-under market has fallen off a cliff, according to the latest Inland Revenue Department (IRD) statistics.
The July IRD figures show the number of younger KiwiSaver members has gone backwards over the month, with 1,888 fewer in the 0-17 year-old category and a drop of 134 in the 18-24 cohort.
Prior to the kickstart removal in late May both age groups had been adding a net average of about 1,300 members to KiwiSaver each month.
The under-18s experienced a drop in total KiwiSaver members over the month to June 30, the first full reporting period post the kickstart cancellation. However, the July figures show that the prospect of an annual KiwiSaver top-up of $521 (a carrot not on offer for under 18-year olds) may not be enough to lure the18-24 age group into the scheme.
Total KiwiSaver membership grew by just 8,581 in the month to the end of July – likely the lowest monthly increase since inception – down more than 2,500 compared to June and close to half the May result. Almost 2.54 million New Zealanders are now in KiwiSaver schemes, the IRD reports, with almost 120,000 ‘on holiday’.
Meanwhile, KiwiSaver funds under management hit $29.6 billion (coincidentally, exactly the same figure reported by the New Zealand Superannuation Fund) at the end of June, according to Australian research house, Plan for Life.
The Plan for Life figures show ANZ cracked through the $7 billion mark in the June quarter, adding almost $300 million over the three months.
Of the Plan for Life KiwiSaver top 10 managers, BNZ grew at the fastest rate (adding 11.1 per cent to finish the quarter with almost $590 million) while AMP and Mercer experienced the lowest quarterly growth (about 1.5 per cent each).
Over the June quarter total KiwiSaver funds under management grew by $1.1 billion, or 3.7 per cent, Plan for Life says, most of which (roughly 98 per cent) was attributed to net flows.