KiwiSaver fees are deducted from your returns before you see them. On a $100,000 balance, the difference between a 0.23% and a 1.20% annual fee is $970 a year, and that gap compounds over a working life.
This page is the KiwiSaver fee comparison for major NZ providers: management fees, member fees and total annual cost for growth, conservative, balanced and ethical funds. Every table is listed by stated management fee, lowest first, with ties in alphabetical order. It is one of our KiwiSaver fee guides.
How KiwiSaver Fees Work
Most KiwiSaver funds charge an annual management fee (a percentage of your balance) and some also charge a flat member or administration fee in dollars a year. Performance fees, transaction costs and transfer fees are less common; what each fee is and how to work out what you pay is in KiwiSaver fees explained.
KiwiSaver Fee Comparison: Growth Funds
Growth funds are the most commonly held fund type for working-age members. The table shows the management fee, the flat member fee and the combined annual cost at three balances.
| Provider | Annual management fee | Member fee | Annual cost on $20k | Annual cost on $50k | Annual cost on $100k |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplicity | 0.23% | $0 | $46 | $115 | $230 |
| Kernel | ~0.25% | $0 | $50 | $125 | $250 |
| BNZ | ~0.45% | $0 | $90 | $225 | $450 |
| Westpac | ~0.55% | $0 | $110 | $275 | $550 |
| SuperLife | ~0.61% | $30 | $152 | $335 | $640 |
| ASB | ~0.70% | $0 | $140 | $350 | $700 |
| Summer | 0.90% | $36 | $216 | $486 | $936 |
| ANZ | ~0.95% | $0 | $190 | $475 | $950 |
| Kōura (Growth Strategy) | ~1.03% | $30 | $236 | $545 | $1,060 |
| Milford (Active Growth) | ~1.05% base fee, plus any performance fee | $0 | $210 | $525 | $1,050 |
| Fisher Funds KiwiSaver Plan | ~1.13% | $0 | $226 | $565 | $1,130 |
| Booster | ~1.24% | $36 | $284 | $656 | $1,276 |
| Generate (Focused Growth) | ~1.25% | $36 | $286 | $661 | $1,286 |
| Pathfinder | ~1.35% | $27 | $297 | $702 | $1,377 |
Simplicity, BNZ, ASB, Westpac, ANZ, Booster, SuperLife, Summer and Fisher Funds figures checked in October 2026 against provider fee pages, fund updates and product disclosure statements, or Sorted Smart Investor where a provider’s own page could not be read (ASB and Westpac); SuperLife’s figure is the total fund charges in its Growth Fund update for the quarter to 30 June 2026. Generate, Kōura and Pathfinder checked in October 2026 against each provider’s current PDS or latest fund update (Generate: PDS dated 30 September 2026; Kōura: PDS dated 15 May 2026; Pathfinder: fund update for the quarter to 30 June 2026). ANZ’s figure is the Growth Fund’s total fund charges in its fund update for the quarter to 30 June 2026 (0.98% is the maximum charge in its fee schedule). Milford’s annual costs use the 1.05% base fee only: its Active Growth fund update to 30 June 2026 estimates total fund charges of 1.44% once performance fees are counted. Generate’s and Kōura’s member fees apply to members aged 18 or over; Pathfinder’s $27 isn’t charged to members under 18 or with a balance below $5,000. Fisher Funds’ figures are for the Fisher Funds KiwiSaver Plan, its only KiwiSaver scheme after the original scheme’s members were due to move into it by 6 October 2026, and Milford’s and Fisher Funds’ figures are indicative: check current fees in each provider’s Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), as fees are reviewed periodically.
Kiwibank no longer runs its own KiwiSaver scheme: see what happened to Kiwibank KiwiSaver.
Fee Comparison: Conservative Funds
| Provider | Annual management fee | Member fee |
|---|---|---|
| Simplicity | 0.23% | $0 |
| Booster (Conservative Fund, closed to new investment) | ~0.38% | $0 (if always invested only in this fund) |
| ASB | ~0.40% | $0 |
| Westpac | ~0.40% | $0 |
| BNZ | ~0.45% | $0 |
| SuperLife | ~0.57% | $30 |
| ANZ | ~0.60% | $0 |
| Summer | 0.75% | $36 |
| Fisher Funds KiwiSaver Plan | ~0.85% | $0 |
| Milford | ~0.85% | $0 |
Simplicity’s 0.23% flat fee (from 1 October 2026; 0.24% before that) applies to all its KiwiSaver funds (High Growth, Growth, Balanced, Default, Conservative, Defensive): confirmed against its KiwiSaver page in October 2026. BNZ’s Conservative Fund is 0.45% (its 0.30% fee is the Cash Fund’s) and ANZ’s 0.60% is the Conservative Fund’s total fund charges in its fund update to 30 June 2026. Other providers’ fund-specific figures in this table were not independently re-verified this pass; confirm against the current PDS.
Fee Comparison: Balanced Funds
| Provider | Annual management fee | Member fee |
|---|---|---|
| Simplicity | 0.23% | $0 |
| BNZ | ~0.45% | $0 |
| Westpac | ~0.50% | $0 |
| SuperLife | ~0.60% | $30 |
| ASB | ~0.65% | $0 |
| ANZ | ~0.86% | $0 |
| Summer | 0.90% | $36 |
| Fisher Funds KiwiSaver Plan | ~1.01% | $0 |
| Milford | ~1.05% base fee, plus any performance fee | $0 |
| Booster | ~1.19% | $36 |
ANZ: Balanced Fund total fund charges in its fund update to 30 June 2026. Milford: Balanced Fund base fee; Milford estimates total fund charges of about 1.12% once performance fees are counted.
Fee Comparison: Ethical / Socially Responsible Funds
Ethical funds often cost more than the same provider’s conventional fund, though not at every provider:
| Provider | Fund name | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|
| Simplicity | Growth (ESG integrated) | 0.23% |
| SuperLife | Ethica | ~0.70% + $30/yr member fee |
| Booster | Socially Responsible Balanced | ~1.21% + $36/yr member fee |
| Booster | Socially Responsible Growth | ~1.23% + $36/yr member fee |
| Generate | Focused Growth | ~1.25% + $36/yr member fee |
| Pathfinder | Growth | ~1.35% + $27/yr member fee |
Pathfinder: total fund charges in the year to 31 March 2026, from its fund update for the quarter to 30 June 2026; its $27 member fee isn’t charged to members under 18 or with a balance below $5,000. Generate: PDS dated 30 September 2026. Both checked October 2026.
Simplicity applies ESG screening across its whole range rather than through a separate ethical fund. Booster’s Socially Responsible funds and Pathfinder’s funds exclude specified industries, at about 1.0 to 1.1 percentage points more in management fee than Simplicity on the figures above.
Westpac does not offer a separately branded ethical/ESG KiwiSaver fund. Its scheme’s eight funds (Cash, Defensive Conservative, Conservative, Moderate, Default Balanced, Balanced, Growth and High Growth, per its annual report for the year to 31 March 2026) sit under its manager’s sustainable investment approach, which the annual report says includes exclusions. See the ethical KiwiSaver providers comparison for exclusions provider by provider.
Small Balances and Flat Member Fees
A flat member fee weighs more on a small balance: $36 a year is 0.36% of a $10,000 balance but 0.036% of $100,000. Providers with no member fee in the tables above (ANZ, ASB, BNZ, the Fisher Funds KiwiSaver Plan, Kernel, Milford, Simplicity and Westpac) charge only the percentage fee, Pathfinder doesn’t charge its $27 below a $5,000 balance, and Generate and Kōura charge theirs only to members aged 18 or over.
The Real Cost of Fees: Compounding Over Time
Fees sound small in percentage terms. The impact over a working life is not.
Scenario: $50,000 current balance, 7% gross return, 25 years, no further contributions
| Fee rate | Projected balance | Growth lost to fees over 25 years |
|---|---|---|
| 0.23% (Simplicity) | ~$257,000 | ~$14,000 |
| 0.61% (SuperLife) | ~$235,000 | ~$36,000 |
| 0.70% (ASB) | ~$230,000 | ~$41,000 |
| 1.20% (illustrative higher fee) | ~$205,000 | ~$67,000 |
Method (recomputed October 2026): $50,000 grown for 25 years at 7% less the fee each year, compounded annually; growth lost is the shortfall against an unchanged 7% (~$271,000). Flat member fees are not included.
On this scenario the 0.23% and 1.20% rows end about $52,000 apart, purely from fee drag.
How to Find Your Current KiwiSaver Fee
Three ways to check what you’re paying:
1. Your provider’s Product Disclosure Statement (PDS)
Every KiwiSaver provider is legally required to publish a PDS on their website. The PDS must disclose all fees clearly, including the annual management fee, administration fee, and any performance fees.
2. Your annual KiwiSaver statement
Each year, your provider sends (or makes available online) an annual statement showing your opening balance, contributions, returns, and total fees charged in dollar terms for the year. This is the most direct way to see exactly what you paid; our guide to reading a KiwiSaver statement explains each section.
3. Sorted’s KiwiSaver fund finder
Sorted.org.nz lists NZ KiwiSaver funds with their fees, so you can compare the fee on your fund with others of the same type.
Do Higher Fees Mean Better Performance?
A fund charging 1.20% needs 0.97 percentage points more gross return than a fund charging 0.23% just to finish level after fees. Whether higher-fee KiwiSaver funds have delivered that is covered, with dated after-fee returns, in cheapest vs highest-returning KiwiSaver funds.
What Switching for Fees Involves
IRD says switching KiwiSaver providers takes about 2 weeks, and your old provider may charge a transfer fee. Your new provider arranges the transfer of your savings from your old scheme; the steps are in the switching KiwiSaver providers guide.
Where to check the latest data
Rates, fees and returns change often. Before deciding, check current figures yourself:
- Sorted Smart Investor: compares fees, returns and risk levels of KiwiSaver and managed funds.
- Disclose register: holds each fund's product disclosure statement and quarterly fund updates.
- The provider's latest fund update: gives the fund's current fees, returns and holdings.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the lowest stated KiwiSaver fee? As of October 2026, the lowest stated management fee in the tables above is Simplicity’s 0.23% a year (from 1 October 2026; 0.24% from 1 September 2025), with no member fee, on all its KiwiSaver funds. Kernel’s management fee runs from 0.25% to 0.45% depending on the fund, also with no member fee.
What is the average KiwiSaver fee in NZ? The FMA’s 2026 KiwiSaver annual report puts total fees deducted at around 0.7% of funds under management, a level they have stayed at for the past three years.
Are KiwiSaver fees tax deductible? No. KiwiSaver fees are deducted from your fund’s gross return before PIE tax is calculated, but they are not separately deductible on your personal tax return.
What is a performance fee? Some active managers charge a performance fee when their fund exceeds a benchmark return, and it is disclosed in the PDS and annual fund updates. See KiwiSaver fees explained.
Is the member fee charged on top of the management fee? Yes. If a provider charges a 0.75% management fee and a $30 annual member fee, you pay both. On a $20,000 balance, the total cost is $150 + $30 = $180 a year, an effective rate of 0.90%.
Do all providers charge a member fee? No. In the tables above, ANZ, ASB, BNZ, the Fisher Funds KiwiSaver Plan, Kernel, Milford, Simplicity and Westpac charge no flat member fee. Pathfinder charges $27 a year (not below a $5,000 balance or under 18); Kōura $30 (members 18 or over) and SuperLife $30 (not charged if all your money is in its Default Fund); Booster, Generate and Summer $36.
How do I compare what I’m paying? Check your annual statement’s fee disclosure in dollar terms, divide it by your balance, and compare that rate with the same fund type in the tables above.
What to Read Next
- KiwiSaver Fees Explained: every fee type and how to work out what you pay
- Compare KiwiSaver Providers: fees, returns and features side by side
- Cheapest vs Highest-Returning KiwiSaver Funds: do low-fee funds come out ahead?
- KiwiSaver Fund Performance Comparison: how to compare after-fee returns fairly
- KiwiSaver Returns by Fund Type and Provider: dated 5-year after-fee figures
- Switching KiwiSaver Providers: the steps and timing
- KiwiSaver Fund Types Explained: growth vs balanced vs conservative