Inside Money: Plus and minus signs in KiwiSaver this year

Over 123,000 KiwiSaver accounts have closed since the scheme launched in 2007. Photo / File

There are some obvious takeaways from the latest Inland Revenue Department (IRD) annual KiwiSaver statistics.

For instance, more members are heading for the exits: over 123,000 KiwiSaver accounts have closed since the scheme launched in 2007, more than 26,000 in the last annual period alone.

Most (19,000) of those account closures were retirement-related, in line with inexorable demographic trends. But there was also an average amount of death (about 2,500), a slight uptick in sickness (1,200-ish), and a dip in emigration exits.

The decline in KiwiSaver account closures due to permanent emigration has shown the most dramatic trend reversal over the last few years: only 788 members bailed out of NZ in the 12 months to June 30 compared to over 1,200 in the previous period and a whopping 8,130 the year before that (in the country's pre-rock star days).

But in addition to the permanent departures, a substantial number of locals have taken long sabbaticals from their KiwiSaver obligations: just under 120,000 are officially on 'holiday' from their schemes, of whom almost 100,000 have indicated they won't be back for at least five years.

There's also been a record amount of bed-hopping among the regular contributors. According to the IRD figures, almost 158,000 members changed their KiwiSaver scheme during the year (excluding mergers), up 8,400 on the 2013/14 period.

This year the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) is due to publish a report on KiwiSaver transfer tactics, which may shed some light on why more than 6 per cent of all members have swapped schemes over the year.

But even those providers on the losing end of the transfer wars would likely have seen overall balances grow quite nicely during the 12 months to June 30.

The IRD figures show annual contributions (combined, member, employer and government) are closing in on $5 billion, an increase of more than $800 million compared to the previous year.

Even with the $1,000 kickstart now relegated to history, total KiwiSaver contributions should push through $5 billion over the next 12 months.

It all adds up.