Your people are growing their KiwiSaver. Do they have a Will to protect it?
KiwiSaver is one of the most consistent financial habits in New Zealand. For many employees, it is the largest asset they are actively building, often worth tens of thousands of dollars before they reach 40.
But here is something most people do not think about: without a valid Will, what happens to that balance when they are gone is not up to them.
What KiwiSaver without a Will actually means
Under New Zealand law, KiwiSaver is treated as part of a person's estate when they pass away. That means if an employee dies without a Will, their KiwiSaver balance does not automatically go to their partner or children. Instead, it passes according to the rules of intestacy under the Administration Act 1969, a formula set by legislation, not by the person who earned it.
In practice, this can mean delays of months while the courts determine who is entitled to what. It can mean family members who were never mentioned in any formal document receiving a share of funds. And it can mean the people your employee intended to protect are left waiting.
Around half of New Zealand adults do not have a Will. For many, their KiwiSaver balance is growing every fortnight while their estate plan stays empty.
The moments when this becomes most visible
Most HR leaders become aware of estate planning only when something goes wrong. A serious illness. A sudden loss. A family disagreement about what someone would have wanted.
By then, the window to help has already closed. The value of a financial wellbeing programme is that it opens the conversation before a crisis, at a moment when employees still have time to act.
A few life stages where this comes up naturally:
• A new employee setting up their KiwiSaver contribution for the first time.
• An employee wanting to stop KiwiSaver Contributions.
• A parent returning from parental leave, newly aware of what they are responsible for.
• Any employee who has recently separated from a partner
These are natural moments of relevance that a Will goes hand in hand with.
This is not about legal advice. It is about access.
When employers add Wills and estate planning to a financial wellbeing programme, they are not providing legal advice. They are removing the friction that stops people from taking action.
For most employees, the barrier is not motivation. They know they probably should have a Will. The barrier is not knowing where to start, assuming it is expensive or complicated, or simply not finding a moment to prioritise it.
Workplace programmes work because they put the resource in front of people at the right time. They normalise the conversation. They make it easy to follow through.
To make it even easier, we have put together a plain-language resource your team can share directly with employees:
What happens to your KiwiSaver if you don't have a Will?
What this means for your benefits strategy
A financial wellbeing programme that covers budgeting and KiwiSaver education but not estate planning is covering how to grow wealth without covering how to protect it. For employees with growing balances, that is a meaningful gap.
Footprint works with employers to add Wills and estate planning to financial wellbeing programmes in a way that is accessible, private and easy to roll out. Your people get the tools to take action. You get a benefits offering that reflects the full picture of financial health.
If you are reviewing your financial wellbeing programme and want to learn how Wills and estate planning fits in, book a chat with our team.
