That’s despite Peters saying in April that NZ First “won’t do a deal with Labour” and confirming “nothing has changed” since his 2022 promise to rule out working with the party.
National MPs gathered in Lower Hutt on Sunday. Photo / Jamie Ensor
In an announcement on Sunday, National Party leader and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said that if re-elected, National would make KiwiSaver compulsory for all workers.
“Under National’s changes, everyone in work will be required to contribute to KiwiSaver, or an equivalent retirement savings scheme, from 1 July 2028.
“Contribution will be set at the default rate, meaning that by 2032 employers and employees must each contribute 6 per cent.
“Recent global volatility has underlined the need to strengthen our financial security. In a more uncertain world, New Zealand needs higher savings and greater financial resilience. Compulsory KiwiSaver will help deliver both.”
Workers in alternative retirement savings schemes (like the Police Super Scheme) will be exempt from compulsory KiwiSaver contributions.
Luxon said New Zealanders would be able to suspend their contributions but only if they met the existing hardship test currently used when making an early withdrawal.
National’s Christopher Luxon announced the KiwiSaver policy on Sunday. Photo / Anna Heath
On top of this, National would also automatically enrol every baby born in New Zealand into KiwiSaver at birth and contribute a $1500 Baby Boost payment to kick-start their savings.
“Parents will be able to contribute further if they wish but even if they can’t, their kids will be well on their way to a bigger nest egg,” Luxon said.
Additionally, the party would provide a government contribution to a parent’s KiwiSaver while they are on paid parental leave, even if the parent isn’t contributing themselves.
This contribution will be made at the default rate, applied against the amount of paid parental leave a person is receiving, starting in July next year.
The next part of the package is requiring employers to maintain KiwiSaver contributions for their employees aged over 65.
“A re-elected National Government will ensure that savers at the other end of their working lives don’t lose out either. Many Kiwis choose to keep working beyond 65 and employers are not currently required to make KiwiSaver contributions for employees after that age.”
National has previously promised to lift default KiwiSaver contributions to a combined 12% by 2032. This would reflect a 6% contribution by the employer and 6% by the employee.
The total cost of the four key changes is a little over $1.1 billion over the four years. This would be met from future Budget operating allowances.
National campaign chair Simeon Brown was critical of NZ First and Act. Photo / Annaleise Shortland
Earlier, Brown was stressing the importance of the party vote to National’s electoral prospects when he took a crack at the party’s current coalition partners, NZ First and Act.
He used an analogy seemingly to explain the coalition dynamics, indirectly comparing National to a “Mum or Dad” in a household, while the other coalition partners are distracting children.
“Every working family knows how it goes. Mum or Dad gets up early. Lunches made, bills paid, the whole house out the door on time. The household runs, and it runs well,” Brown said.
“There are two kids in this house. They get on fine with Mum and Dad, but not always with each other. One wants the heater on, the other throws the window open. One wants the rugby on, the other wants football. It’s up to Mum and Dad to keep the peace.
“None of it breaks the household – it’s just a distraction.”
He said energy needed to be spent “refereeing” the siblings “instead of building the family’s future”.
“You know who those two kids are, with Mum and Dad in the middle, finding the time in all the noise, to get on and get the job done,” he said.
“So my message to New Zealand is simple. Giving your vote to anyone else won’t help deliver a National Government.”
Brown was then explicit: “Don’t vote for Act or NZ First thinking it helps National”.
“It doesn’t. A party vote for New Zealand First grows New Zealand First. A party vote for Act grows Act. Neither grows National.”
He then turned to NZ First’s history of propping up previous Labour Governments, including noting that in 2017 “a party vote for NZ First was a party vote for Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins and James Shaw”.
“You want to take that risk again? I don’t. You just can’t trust them.”
NZ First’s Winston Peters has also taken jabs at National in the past. Photo / Mark Mitchell
NZ First has also been critical of National recently.
The Herald was with Peters last week at Fieldays as he repeatedly criticised National, slamming it for signing up to “stupid” climate targets, attacking it for signing the India Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and blaming it for the Resource Management Act (RMA) it’s now getting rid of.
In April, after National figures began publicly speculating if NZ First could go with Labour again, Peters posted on social media highlighting that in 2022 he told the Herald that he was ruling out working with the Labour Party.
“We did that because the left are full of woke, self-confessed communists who would turn our country into a basket case,” Peters said.
“Nothing has changed. In fact, they are even worse. No, we won’t do a deal with Labour or their Marxist and separatist mates.”
Much of the rest of Brown’s speech was directly aimed at Labour, arguing against its economic record and taking the mickey out of some of its failed policies in Government, including Auckland light rail.
The National MP also commented on the early release of the Green Party’s tax plan.
He also laid directly into Labour leader Chris Hipkins, saying he “doesn’t have a record of fixing things”, but instead of “breaking everything he touches”.
A smaller section of the speech reflected on what Brown saw as National’s achievements in Government, primarily in the economic space.
Brown took on the campaign chair role in April after it was removed from Chris Bishop as part of a wider reshuffle.
Luxon spoke after Brown, including announcing new party policy.
The National leader made brief remarks on Saturday, which included praising Bishop, whose Hutt South electorate was hosting the conference, and trying to rally the party troops for the election.
Jamie Ensor is the NZ Herald’s Chief Political Reporter, based in the press gallery at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub press gallery office. He was a finalist in 2025 for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.