KiwiSaver: how schools differ and your obligations as employer

KiwiSaver is a voluntary savings scheme designed to make it easier for New Zealanders to save for their future.

For most people, KiwiSaver is work-based. This means they receive information about KiwiSaver from you, and their KiwiSaver contributions come straight out of their pay.

Use this page to learn about your obligations as an employer, and how KiwiSaver differs in some ways in the education sector.

• Three ways KiwiSaver differs in schools
• Employees on education service payroll: do some things differently
• Your employer obligations under KiwiSaver

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Three ways KiwiSaver differs in schools

These are the three main ways KiwiSaver differs in the education sector:

1. Treat employees who change schools as new employees, even though they stay on the same payroll. This is because a board of trustees is the employer of employees at its school.
2. You are not able to select an individual employer-chosen KiwiSaver provider for your school.
3. The government makes compulsory employer contributions of two per cent gross pay to your employees' KiwiSaver schemes.

Employees on education service payroll: do some things differently

Paying employees through the education service payroll means you have to do some things differently for KiwiSaver:

• Fill out a KiwiSaver Enrolment Assessment Form ESP29 for new employees and employees joining by opting in.
• You don't need to complete the KiwiSaver employee details form KS1.
• Send the KiwiSaver deduction form KS2 to your pay centre with the KiwiSaver Enrolment Assessment Form ESP29.

These are necessary to:

• help you assess KiwiSaver eligibility for new employees and employees who opt in
• make sure your pay centre gets the information they need to start employee contributions.

KiwiSaver Enrolment Assessment Form ESP29
KiwiSaver deduction form KS2

Your employer obligations under KiwiSaver

Your main obligations under KiwiSaver are to:

• check if you should automatically enrol new employees
• work out if your employees are eligible to join
• give the KiwiSaver information pack KS3 to:
  - new employees whose employment term is more than 28 days
  - existing employees who want to opt in
  - any employees who ask for one
• automatically enrol all new employees who are eligible
• contact Inland Revenue when your school needs more KiwiSaver employee information packs KS3
• help employees who opt in, opt-out and want to take a contributions holiday.

Employees are people that your Board of Trustees employs. You are not responsible for contractors, suppliers and service providers who invoice you.