KiwiSaver remediation and compensation

We are resolving a historic error that led to some school staff receiving incorrect payments into their KiwiSaver account.

Overview

Some school employees received incorrect employer contributions into their KiwiSaver account because of payroll errors made between 22 August 2012 and 17 November 2021. Processes have been put in place to fix the issue.

We are now paying the underpaid KiwiSaver employer contributions and compensation for the loss-of-investment earnings related to the late payment of these contributions.

We have made payments to affected current school employees and former employees who are current KiwiSaver members. We are now contacting affected former school employees who have exited KiwiSaver.

If you are acting on behalf of a former employee or for the estate of a deceased former employee, the payment process is the same.

Payments to former KiwiSaver members

Former school employees

If you are affected by the errors, have exited KiwiSaver and are no longer a school employee, we are trying to contact you via email, text and/or letter to ask you to register on the Schools Payroll Remediation Portal. We need you to confirm your bank details, provide us with your tax information and verify your identify, so we can process your payment.

If you are a former school employee and your contact details have changed since you left the school sector, please register on the Schools Payroll Remediation Portal to make sure we can contact you about KiwiSaver or other schools payroll remediation payments if we need to.

Schools Payroll Remediation Portal(external link)

If you are owed a KiwiSaver remediation and compensation payment, you will find the breakdown in the My Claims section of the portal. You will see the total amount owed to you, followed by that amount split into two parts. The “Rem” portion is the remediation amount and the “Comp” portion is the compensation amount.

If you no longer have a New Zealand bank account, please log a query through the Schools Payroll Remediation Portal. Our team will get in touch to explain the process for making a payment to an overseas bank account.

Current school employees

If you are affected by the errors, have exited KiwiSaver and you are a current school employee, the payment has been made directly into the main bank account used by schools payroll to pay you.

We sent you an email using the contact details held by schools payroll to let you know about the payment, which you will see in your bank account identified as Min of Edu KiwiSaver payment.

You can securely view your payment breakdown on the Ministry’s KiwiSaver remediation and compensation page. You will be asked to enter the unique access key from the email we sent you and any two of three identifiers (date of birth/IR number/Ministry of Education number). If you didn’t receive an email or can’t find your access key, email remediation.query@education.govt.nz.

Taku Education - KiwiSaver remediation and compensation(external link)

Payments to current KiwiSaver members

If you are affected by the errors and you are a current KiwiSaver member, the payment was made to Inland Revenue to pass onto your KiwiSaver provider. 

We sent you an email using the contact details held by schools payroll to let you know about the payment, which you will be able to see in your KiwiSaver account identified as an ‘employer contribution’.

You can securely view your payment breakdown on the Ministry’s KiwiSaver remediation and compensation page. You will be asked to enter the unique access key from the email we sent you and any two of three identifiers (date of birth/IR number/Ministry of Education number). If you didn’t receive an email or can’t find your access key, email our team at remediation.query@education.govt.nz.

Taku Education - KiwiSaver remediation and compensation(external link)

How we calculated the payment

The remediation amount is the actual amount of underpaid KiwiSaver employer contributions.

Compensation for the loss-of-investment earnings related to the late payment of these contributions was calculated using the investment returns from the highest performing KiwiSaver default scheme growth fund.

We worked with external adviser PwC to ensure that the compensation for loss-of-investment earnings was calculated correctly. If you are a current KiwiSaver member, the compensation payment restores your KiwiSaver account to where it would have been had the correct employer contributions been paid on time. If you are no longer a KiwiSaver member, the loss-of-investment-earnings compensation was calculated on the same basis as if you were a current KiwiSaver member.

Tax implications

If you received a payment into your bank account, we have paid income tax and any other applicable deductions (for example, student loan or KiwiSaver) from your payment based on your tax code at the time of payment.

We encourage you to contact any relevant organisations, such as Inland Revenue or the Ministry of Social Development, for advice about whether your taxable payment affects any agreement you have with them about your current earnings, benefits, child support or any other matters.

More information

Find out more about our schools payroll remediation programme.

Schools payroll remediation programme

Contact us

The best way to get in touch is via our query form(external link).

 You can also contact the team by:

Keeping yourself safe from phishing scams

Phishing is when someone uses an email, text or phone call to try to get access to sensitive information (like bank account numbers and passwords).

For schools payroll remediation payments, we will never ask you for your bank account login and password. The information you receive from us will direct you to the Ministry of Education’s website.

Phishing scammers will claim to be from a legitimate organisation, and often have email addresses or websites that look very real. They'll often ask you to claim a prize, check your details, or tell you that your account is expiring or needs to be checked.

Email phishing scams – Netsafe(external link)

Last reviewed: Has this been useful? Give us your feedback