2 Data

This paper uses data from a survey of individuals undertaken by Colmar Brunton on behalf of IRD, as part of the KiwiSaver Evaluation Programme.[8] The unit record data were made available under a special agreement with selected researchers. The survey involved face-to-face interviews with 825 people aged 18-65 and was conducted between January and March 2010. The objectives of the survey were:

1. To gain a greater understanding of the profile of members and non-members and the reasons for membership/non-membership in order to determine whether participation is being successfully encouraged.
2. To investigate the drivers behind members' use of KiwiSaver features with a view to understanding how longer-term use of KiwiSaver might develop, whether the features are operating as intended, and how the use of these features may influence savings outcomes.
3. To investigate members' and non-members' attitudes and approach to savings for retirement to understand whether longer-term savings behaviours are being established.
4. To provide an indication of the extent to which members' KiwiSaver saving is additional to that which would have been undertaken in the absence of the scheme, with a view to determining whether KiwiSaver will promote greater financial independence in retirement for the target group, that is, individuals who are not in a position to enjoy standards of living in retirement similar to those in pre-retirement.

The 825 surveyed individuals consisted of 557 randomly selected members of the general public aged 18-65 years and a booster sample of an additional 268 KiwiSaver members.

The survey was weighted in two stages. The first stage involved weighting to adjust for the unequal probabilities of selection associated with the sample design described above. This included applying weights to ensure that the proportion of KiwiSaver members was in line with administrative data. The second stage involved weighting on the basis of the underlying population age and gender distribution. This was done on the basis of administrative data for the KiwiSaver booster sample, and Census data for the general sample. No attempt was made to benchmark against other characteristics, such as KiwiSaver members by method of enrolment.

Of the total respondents, 474 were KiwiSaver members made up of 206 from the general survey populations and 268 from the booster sample. The remaining 351 were not members. The response rate for the general sample was 75% and for the booster sample 57%.

In a number of cases rather than provide exact dollar amounts, respondents were asked to indicate which of a series of incremental bands best fitted their circumstances. The mid-points of the bands were used as the value for further calculations.[9] More details of the survey design and methodology, as well as detailed summary statistics can be found in a technical report (Colmar Brunton 2010).