Hive KiwiSaver Scheme Review

Hive KiwiSaver Scheme Review

Hive runs 13 KiwiSaver funds open to new members, covering a moderate spread of risk levels. At 30 June 2026 they held $613.6 million for 24,912 investors.

Charges across the open funds run from 0.40 per cent to 1.60 per cent.

What follows is set out in three parts. First, what the scheme actually holds. Second, the fees, risk indicators and returns for every fund, read off the Government’s register. Third — and this is the part that matters — whether the return justifies the charge.

How We Researched This Guide

Every number below is read from our own copy of the Government’s Disclose Register, which is the statutory source managers file against. It carries 13 open funds, all reported as at 30 June 2026.

We also checked the rules that underpin every KiwiSaver account — contribution rates, the government contribution, and default provider appointments — against Inland Revenue and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

One thing worth knowing before you read on: the register still carries schemes that are closed to new members. They are listed separately below. We include them so you can identify a legacy account, not so you can join one.

We are not recommending a move in either direction. The point of the exercise is to put the verified numbers side by side, so the decision rests on figures rather than on a brochure.

The Quick Summary (60-Second Version)

Here is the short version before the detail.

• Hive offers 13 open funds across a single scheme.
• Annual fund charges range from 0.40 per cent to 1.60 per cent.
• The cheapest option is the Hive Aurora Liquidity Fund at 0.40 per cent.
• The largest fund by value is the Hive Aurora Growth Fund, with $357.2 million invested.
• The funds hold $613.6 million in total across 24,912 investors.
• 13 of the open funds do not yet have a five-year figure because they have not been running that long.

What You Pay, and What You Get For It

Hive charges an annual fund charge, and there are no separate membership, contribution, establishment, switching or termination fees recorded for its KiwiSaver scheme. The charge comes out of the fund’s returns rather than being billed to you, which is why most members never see it leave the account.

Percentages hide the real cost, so here it is in dollars. On a $50,000 balance, the lowest charge here, 0.40 per cent, is about $200 a year, and the highest, 1.60 per cent, is about $800. On $100,000, those figures double. Double the balance, and you double both.

What the Charge Costs at Different Balances

Because the charge is a percentage, its cost rises with your balance. Below is what the cheapest, dearest and middling funds take on three balances. This much is guaranteed: the fee is charged in a good year and a bad one alike.

Over a working life, the compounding of that difference is larger than most people expect, because the fee is taken every year from a balance that would otherwise be growing.

The Kinds of Fund in This Range

The register groups every fund by type, and the type tells you more about the risk than the name does. Hive spans 5 of those groups, which determines how much choice you actually have.

The risk indicator runs from 1 to 7. It measures how much the fund’s value has moved in the past, not how good it is. A 6 or 7 is not a warning; it is a statement that the fund is expected to fall further in a bad year, and it belongs in a portfolio you will not need to touch for a long time.

Hive KiwiSaver Scheme — the funds

Charges across the open funds run from 0.40 per cent to 1.60 per cent.

Aurora Balanced Strategy in this scheme is closed to new members. If you already hold it you keep it and pay the charge shown; if you are choosing now, you cannot join it.

What the Funds Actually Hold

The register also discloses each fund’s split between growth assets, such as shares and property, and income assets, such as bonds and cash. More than the fund’s name, that ratio tells you how it will behave when markets move.

The range here runs from 0% growth assets in the Hive Aurora Liquidity Fund up to 74% in the Hive Aurora Growth Fund. A fund at the bottom of that range will barely move in a bad year; one at the top will fall hard when share markets do, and recover just as sharply when they turn. Neither is better on its own — the right split depends on how long the money will stay invested.

13 of the open funds here have no five-year figure because they have not been running that long. We show a dash rather than a number that would not be comparable, so weigh those funds on their fee and strategy instead.

Where Hive Sits Against the Alternatives

On entry cost, Hive is the 15th cheapest of the 29 managers in our KiwiSaver table, with its cheapest fund charging 0.40 per cent. The cheapest manager charges 0.03 per cent and the dearest starts at 4.26 per cent.

Cheap is not the same as good. The test is whether the manager returns what the fee costs, and that shows up in the five-year figures. Past performance is not a promise, and any period that favours one asset class will flatter the funds holding most of it.

What You Put In, and What You Get Back

Contribution settings come from legislation rather than the provider, so they are identical across all schemes. The difference lies in what the manager does with the money afterwards, and that is where the fee begins to matter.

The default employee and employer rate is 3.5 per cent from 1 April 2026, and it rises to 4 per cent on 1 April 2028. On a $70,000 salary, 3.5 per cent is $2,450 a year from you, matched by your employer, so about $4,900 a year goes into the account before any return.

The Government adds 25 cents for every dollar you contribute, up to a maximum of $260.72 a year. To receive the full amount, you must contribute at least $1,042.86 of your own money between 1 July and 30 June, and employer contributions do not count towards that threshold. If your taxable income is above $180,000 a year, you do not qualify.

Once the money is in, the fund charge applies to the whole balance rather than to each contribution. On a $50,000 balance, the lowest charge here, 0.40 per cent, is about $200 a year, and the highest, 1.60 per cent, is about $800. On $100,000, those figures double. That is the number worth weighing against the returns, because it is charged whether the fund rises or falls.

Questions You Might Have

Which fund am I in?

Your KiwiSaver statement, or the online account you use to manage your savings, will show which fund your money is invested in and how it is split if you hold more than one. Check it before anything else, because the fund decides both the return and the charge.

How much will I pay?

Charges across the open funds run from 0.40 per cent to 1.60 per cent. It comes out of the fund’s returns, not your bank account, so you will not see a separate bill.

Is Hive a default provider?

No. The appointed default providers are BNZ, Booster, Westpac (through BT Funds Management), Fisher Funds, Simplicity and Smartshares, with appointments running to December 2028. Hive is a scheme you choose deliberately.

Can I change funds without changing provider?

Usually yes. Most schemes let you move between their own funds, or set a different split, through your online account at no cost, and the change takes effect without affecting your membership or your employer contributions. You only need to switch provider if the scheme itself is the problem.

Do I have to pick just one fund?

No. With 13 open funds, you can split your balance across several, which lets you take more risk with part of your savings and less with the rest. The trade-off is that you have to keep track of the split yourself.

What happens to a closed fund?

If you already hold a fund that has closed to new members, you keep it and continue to pay the charge shown. Closing a fund stops new money coming in; it does not force existing members out, and it does not change your balance.

How much do I need to contribute to get the full government contribution?

You need to put in at least $1,042.86 of your own money between 1 July and 30 June to receive the maximum of $260.72. The government adds 25 cents for every dollar you contribute, and employer contributions do not count towards your $1,042.86. If your taxable income is above $180,000 a year, you do not qualify.

How much will I pay at the default contribution rate?

The default employee and employer rate rose from 3 per cent to 3.5 per cent on 1 April 2026, and it rises again to 4 per cent on 1 April 2028. On a $70,000 salary, 3.5 per cent is $2,450 a year from you, matched by your employer. You can choose 4, 6, 8 or 10 per cent instead.

Does switching to or from Hive cost anything?

No. Hive records no membership, contribution, establishment, switching or termination fees, and switching between KiwiSaver providers does not attract a fee in practice. You apply to the new provider, who arranges the transfer.

Why do some funds have no five-year figure?

Because they have not been running for five years. A fund launched in the last few years cannot have a five-year return, so the register leaves it blank rather than showing a figure that would not be comparable. We show the same dash.

What Matters Most

Hive is a provider with a wide range of funds. The fee table above gives the current charge on every fund. The funds are numerous enough that you need to choose deliberately.

• The Hive Aurora Liquidity Fund is the cheapest way in at 0.40 per cent.
• 13 funds are too new to have a five-year record, so judge them on strategy and fee rather than past performance.
• Check which fund you are in before anything else, because it decides both the return and the charge.