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Find My KiwiSaver: Tracing a Lost or Forgotten Account

Updated

KiwiSaver accounts get forgotten after an automatic enrolment years ago, several job changes, or time overseas. The account doesn’t disappear: here’s how to find your KiwiSaver and what to do with an old balance.

Common Reasons for a Lost KiwiSaver Account

  • Enrolled automatically at a first job years ago (how KiwiSaver auto-enrolment works) and lost track of the provider
  • Changed jobs several times and are unsure which employer’s contributions went where
  • Returned from overseas and can’t recall your provider
  • Inherited what may be a deceased family member’s KiwiSaver
  • Young — enrolled as a newborn or child but can’t remember the account details

Step 1: Check myIR

The fastest way to find your KiwiSaver is through myIR (myir.ird.govt.nz):

  1. Log in with your myIR user ID and password (or register if you haven’t before)
  2. Go to the KiwiSaver section
  3. Your current provider is shown there

myIR holds IRD’s central record of your KiwiSaver membership. Even if you’ve never logged in before, your account details are linked to your IRD number.

Step 2: Contact IRD Directly

If you can’t access myIR, call Inland Revenue’s KiwiSaver line for members (IRD: KiwiSaver contact):

Phone: 0800 549 472 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm)

Have your IRD number ready. IRD can tell you which provider holds your account and provide contact details.

Step 3: Contact Potential Providers Directly

If you remember starting a job around a certain time period and being enrolled, but don’t know the provider:

  • Your employer at the time would have enrolled you: their payroll team may have the scheme name
  • If you were never asked to choose, you may have been allocated to a default provider; the KiwiSaver default fund guide lists them
  • Check old payslips and your email for welcome letters or annual statements, which name the provider

Unclaimed KiwiSaver Balances

Providers deduct their fees from your investment, so fees can keep reducing an old balance that no longer receives contributions.

On a small balance, fixed fees can take up a noticeable share over time, which is one reason people move an old balance into the scheme they want to keep.

IRD’s Unclaimed Money List

IRD publishes a searchable list of unclaimed money: money that banks, insurers and other organisations held for owners they could not find, generally for 5 years. KiwiSaver money that IRD itself has held for at least six years without enough information to process it is also treated as unclaimed money.

Search for unclaimed money at: ird.govt.nz/unclaimed-money

Consolidating Multiple Accounts

You can only be a member of one KiwiSaver scheme at a time, so a balance found with a second provider is normally moved across.

To consolidate:

  1. Decide which provider you want to keep
  2. Enrol with that provider (if you’re not already)
  3. Request a transfer of your old account balance to the new provider — the new provider handles this
  4. The old account is closed once the transfer is complete

IRD says a transfer takes about 2 weeks.

Checking a Deceased Person’s KiwiSaver

The person looking after a deceased person’s estate contacts the KiwiSaver provider to claim the savings, which become part of the estate. The KiwiSaver death benefit guide covers the documents and process.