The 36% gap between men and women's Kiwisaver balances | TVNZ Breakfast

The gender pay gap has driven a 36% difference between the average amounts men and women have been putting into their KiwiSaver every year, new research suggests.

The analysis was carried out by AUT's New Zealand Policy Research Institute, which looked at new data only available to researchers from April 2019.

The average employee contribution amount from men has been approximately 33% higher than those of women, $2886 compared to $2160, according to the research.

Meanwhile, the average employer contributions for men were approximately 39% higher than those for women, $2328 compared to $1673.

Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson said the data also showed a need for employers to contribute at higher rates than the current KiwiSaver minimum of 3%.

"At the moment we’re not seeing employers show the initiative we’d hope to see, one in three employees already contribute at a rate higher than the 3% minimum," she said.

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