Maritime KiwiSaver Scheme Review

Maritime KiwiSaver Scheme Review

Maritime runs 3 KiwiSaver funds open to new members, all sitting at much the same risk level. At 31 March 2026 they held $20.8 million for 309 investors.

Charges across the open funds run from 0.61 per cent to 0.76 per cent.

Over five years the Balanced Portfolio returned 4.68 per cent a year while the Conservative Portfolio returned 2.10 per cent a year, which is the gap between the top and the bottom of what you can choose from.

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 three open funds, all reported as at 31 March 2026.

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

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.

• Maritime offers three open funds across a single scheme.
• Annual fund charges range from 0.61 per cent to 0.76 per cent.
• The cheapest option is the Conservative Portfolio at 0.61 per cent.
• The largest fund by value is the Balanced Portfolio, with $16.2 million invested.
• The strongest five-year record in the range belongs to the Balanced Portfolio, at 4.68 per cent a year.
• The weakest five-year record is the Conservative Portfolio, at 2.10 per cent a year.
• The funds hold $20.8 million between them for 309 investors.
• Three of the open funds have no five-year figure yet because they have not been running that long.

What You Pay, and What You Get For It

Maritime 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.

It helps to see the charge in dollars. On a $50,000 balance, the lowest charge here, 0.61 per cent, is about $305 a year, and the highest, 0.76 per cent, is about $380. On $100,000, those figures double.

What the Charge Costs at Different Balances

The figures below convert the percentages into annual dollars at three balances. The fee is the one part of the arrangement that does not depend on how markets perform.

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. Maritime spans 3 of those groups, which is what sets 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.

Maritime KiwiSaver Scheme — the funds

Charges across the open funds run from 0.61 per cent to 0.76 per cent. The strongest five-year figure is the Balanced Portfolio at 4.68 per cent a year, and the weakest is the Conservative Portfolio at 2.10 per cent a year.

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.

Between 18% growth assets in the Conservative Portfolio and 78% in the Growth Portfolio, this range covers a lot of ground. The lower figure is built to protect capital; the higher one is built to grow it, and will lose more when markets fall. Match the fund to your horizon rather than to last year’s return.

A Small Range, and What That Means

A scheme with three open funds gives you very little to choose between, and that cuts both ways. There is no chance of picking the wrong option, no fund you will never look at again, and no need to rebalance a split across several funds. The structure does the work for you.

The cost is that you cannot adjust the risk to your own circumstances. Most schemes with a wide range let a member in their twenties hold something different from a member in their sixties. Here, everyone in a given fund is in the same place, so the fund has to be right for your horizon rather than tailored to it. If you are in the accumulation years, that usually means the growth option; if you are close to using the money, it usually means the conservative one.

Reading the Returns

Every return shown is net of the fund charge and after tax — the figure a member actually experiences. Every return shown is net of the fund charge and after tax. The strongest five-year average here is the Balanced Portfolio at 4.68 per cent a year, against a range of 2.10 to 4.68 per cent across the open funds.

The one-year and five-year columns should be read as a pair. One-year figures across these funds span 2.92 to 6.03 per cent, and five-year averages 2.10 to 4.68 per cent. A good year says more about the market than about the manager; a five-year average is the harder and fairer test.

The lesson in that gap is worth carrying into any fund choice: judge on the longest period available, and treat a short history as a reason for caution rather than a virtue.

Below is every return the register publishes, fund by fund. Weight the longer columns most heavily — they are the ones a manager cannot produce by luck.

One of the open funds here has no five-year figure because it has 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 Maritime Sits Against the Alternatives

On entry cost, Maritime is the 21st cheapest of the 29 managers in our KiwiSaver table, with its cheapest fund charging 0.61 per cent. The cheapest manager charges 0.03 per cent and the dearest starts at 4.26 per cent.

Cost is only one side of the ledger. The other is whether the return justifies it, which is what the five-year column is for. Neither number is predictive on its own, and a stretch that suits shares will always make the share-heavy funds look better than they are.

What You Put In, and What You Get Back

The contribution rules are set by the Government and apply to whoever manages your money, so they are the same here as anywhere else. What changes between schemes is what happens to the money once it arrives, which is why the charge matters more as the balance grows.

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.

The charge falls on the entire balance, not on each deposit. On a $50,000 balance, the lowest charge here, 0.61 per cent, is about $305 a year, and the highest, 0.76 per cent, is about $380. On $100,000, those figures double. Weigh that against the returns, since it is deducted regardless of how the fund performs.

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 0.61 per cent to 0.76 per cent. It comes out of the fund’s returns, not your bank account, so you will not see a separate bill.

Is Maritime 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. Maritime 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.

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 Maritime cost anything?

No. Maritime 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

Maritime is a manager with a deliberately small range. The fee table above gives the current charge on every fund. The funds are few and easy to hold in your head.

• The Conservative Portfolio is the cheapest way in at 0.61 per cent.
• The strongest five-year record is the Balanced Portfolio at 4.68 per cent a year, and it carries the risk that produced it.
• Some 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.