Finance workers bypass KiwiSaver

Almost half of financial and accounting workers questioned about KiwiSaver do not belong to the scheme.

A survey of nearly 960 finance sector workers by recruitment firm Robert Half showed 47 per cent did not plan to contribute to KiwiSaver. Forty-one per cent did and another 12 per cent expected to join up soon.

However, a large number of their employers were willing to contribute more than the legal minimum to staff accounts.

Almost three-quarters of respondents said their bosses were paying 2 per cent before the compulsory contribution was lifted from 1 per cent this month, and 23 per cent said their firms were contributing 4 per cent.

More than a fifth of the workers also said they would accept a slightly lower salary in return for higher KiwiSaver employer contributions.

Top talent in the finance and accounting sector was still difficult to attract and KiwiSaver was becoming a major part of pay packages, Robert Half senior manager Megan Alexander said.

"Employers should bear in mind that a significant proportion of their competition for skilled staff are, even now, offering employees more than the compulsory minimum 2 per cent contributions.

"But they also need to consider what they have to offer staff who choose not to contribute to KiwiSaver."

- © Fairfax NZ News