How Glidepaths Work in Lifestages KiwiSaver Funds (NZ 2026)

A glidepath is the schedule an age-based KiwiSaver fund uses to shift you from growth assets into safer ones as you age. How the age bands work, how fast they de-risk, target-date vs lifestages, and how to find your fund's exact schedule.

TL;DR: A glidepath is the pre-set schedule an age-based (lifestages) KiwiSaver fund uses to move you out of growth assets and into safer ones as you get older, usually targeting age 65 ⁶. The exact age bands and steps are written into the fund's Statement of Investment Policy and Objectives (SIPO) ². It runs on your age alone — not your goals, balance or risk tolerance.

If you're in an age-based or "lifestages" KiwiSaver fund, something happens to your money quietly in the background: as you get older, the fund automatically shifts you out of shares and into more cash and bonds. You don't push a button. The fund does it for you, on a fixed schedule called a glidepath ¹.

This guide explains how that glidepath works — how the fund knows when to de-risk, what a typical schedule looks like, why two lifestages funds can glide at very different speeds, and how to find the exact schedule yours follows. It's general information, not a recommendation about whether an age-based fund suits you.

What is a glidepath in a KiwiSaver fund?

A glidepath is a planned, gradual change in your fund's asset mix over time. Instead of holding one fixed split of growth and income assets for your whole working life, an age-based fund slides the mix — heavy on growth assets when you're young, steadily lighter on them as you near retirement ¹.

It helps to know the building blocks. KiwiSaver funds sit on a risk scale with five broad categories — defensive, conservative, balanced, growth and aggressive ⁹. The category is set by how much of the fund is in growth assets (shares and property) versus income assets (cash and bonds). A glidepath simply walks you down that scale over the decades: from something growth-heavy in your twenties toward something more defensive as 65 approaches ⁹.

The logic is straightforward. Early on, you have decades for markets to recover from a fall, so more growth exposure can make sense. Closer to retirement, a sharp drop matters far more because there's less time to recover before you start drawing the money. A glidepath is a built-in attempt to manage that, without you having to remember to switch funds yourself.

It's worth being clear about what an age-based fund is not. Default KiwiSaver funds — the ones people are auto-enrolled into when they don't choose — are balanced funds under the settings in force since 1 December 2021, not lifestages funds ³. So being in a default fund does not mean you're on a glidepath.

How does an age-based fund know when to de-risk?

It uses one input: your date of birth, which the provider already holds. The glidepath is keyed to your age, so when you cross from one age band into the next, the fund moves your money to the new target mix automatically ¹.

This is the defining feature, and the main limitation. The fund de-risks because you've had a birthday — not because your balance hit a number, not because markets are high or low, and not because anything changed in your life. The schedule is mechanical and applies to every member of the same age in the same fund, regardless of their circumstances.

How the move actually happens varies by provider. Some funds shift you in steps as you enter each new age band; others adjust the underlying mix more frequently so the change is smoother. Either way, the trigger is the calendar, and the destinations are pre-set in the fund's governing document.

What does a typical de-risking schedule look like?

The figure below shows the general shape of a glidepath: a high growth-asset weighting in your twenties and thirties that steps down through your forties, fifties and sixties as retirement approaches.

Figure: A typical KiwiSaver glidepath from age 25 to 65 (illustrative, based on lifestages de-risking schedules)

Illustrative only — the percentages and bands above are a general pattern, not any specific fund. The growth-to-income shift maps onto the standard KiwiSaver risk categories ⁹. Your fund's actual numbers will differ; check its SIPO ².

A few things to read from this. The change is gradual, not a single switch on your 65th birthday. The early bands are growth-heavy because the time horizon is long. And the destination near and after 65 is conservative rather than cash — most schedules keep some growth exposure even in retirement, because many people draw their KiwiSaver down over decades, not all at once.

Remember this is a picture of the asset mix, not a forecast of returns. The value of investments can still go down as well as up at every point on the path, including the conservative end.

Do all lifestages funds glide at the same speed?

No — and this is the part people most often miss. "Lifestages" describes the approach, not a standard schedule. Two age-based funds can put a 50-year-old in quite different mixes, because each provider sets its own age bands and its own pace of de-risking ².

The differences tend to show up in three places:

• When the de-risking starts. Some funds hold a high growth weighting well into your forties; others begin trimming earlier.
• How steep the steps are. One fund might drop growth exposure in a few large jumps; another spreads it across many small ones.
• Where it ends up. The "landing" mix at and beyond 65 varies — some funds finish more conservatively than others.

Because there's no single industry glidepath, the label "lifestages" on its own tells you very little about how much risk you're actually carrying at your age. Two people the same age, both in "age-based" funds at different providers, can have meaningfully different growth exposure. The only way to know your fund's path is to read its schedule, covered below.

What happens to your mix in the final years before 65?

The years just before retirement are where a glidepath does its most important work — and where the trade-offs are sharpest.

In your late fifties and early sixties, a typical schedule has already cut your growth exposure well down from its peak. The aim is to reduce the chance that a market fall right before you start drawing the money does lasting damage. Selling units in a falling market to fund living costs early in retirement — sometimes called sequencing risk — is one of the harder problems in retirement planning, and de-risking ahead of time is the glidepath's attempt to soften it.

There's a genuine cost to weigh against that protection. Moving heavily into income assets near 65 lowers expected long-run returns at exactly the point your balance is usually largest. And 65 is the assumed end point because it's the KiwiSaver and NZ Super qualifying age ⁶ — but it may not match when you actually need the money. NZ Super continues alongside whatever you've saved; as at 11 March 2026 it paid a single person living alone $1,038.94 a fortnight after tax, and a couple who both qualify $1,599.86 a fortnight combined, under the rates in force from 1 April 2025 ⁷⁸. For many people KiwiSaver is drawn down gradually on top of that base over a retirement that can last decades — which is why most glidepaths land at conservative rather than cash.

The key point: the fund de-risks on the assumption you'll stop work and start spending at 65. If your real timeline is different, the glidepath may be moving too fast, or too slow, for you.

Glidepath vs target-date vs lifestages: what's the difference?

These terms get used loosely, so it helps to separate them.

The practical difference between the two fund types is small for most KiwiSaver members: both automate de-risking and both run on a glidepath. The distinction is more about labelling than mechanics. What matters more than the name is the actual schedule — when it starts de-risking, how fast, and where it lands.

It's also worth noting that an age-based fund and a fixed single-risk fund are different choices. With a glidepath, the de-risking is automatic. In a single-risk fund (say, a growth fund you picked), nothing changes unless you switch it yourself. Neither is automatically "better" — it depends on whether you'd rather the schedule be handled for you or keep control of the timing. That's the kind of trade-off worth talking through; you can compare the approaches in our guide to lifestages KiwiSaver funds.

What the glidepath ignores about your situation

A glidepath is a useful default, but it's a blunt one. Because it runs on age alone, it can't see things that often matter more than your birthday:

• Your other assets. A mortgage-free home, a rental, or savings outside KiwiSaver all change how much investment risk you can carry. The glidepath doesn't know they exist.
• Your real retirement date. Planning to work part-time to 70, or stop at 60? The fund still assumes 65 ⁶.
• Your goals for the money. A first-home withdrawal in three years and a 40-year retirement need very different mixes — the glidepath treats your whole balance the same.
• Your risk tolerance. Some people can sit through a 30% fall; others can't. Age says nothing about temperament.
• Your contribution settings. Your fund choice is only half the picture. As at 11 March 2026 the minimum employee and employer rate is 3%, rising to 3.5% on 1 April 2026 and 4% from 1 April 2028 ⁴ — so the amount flowing into whichever mix you're on is changing too. And to get the full annual Government contribution of $260.72 (25c per $1) you still need to contribute at least $1,042.86 in the KiwiSaver year, with no entitlement for those earning over $180,000 ⁵.

None of this means an age-based fund is wrong. For someone who'd otherwise never review their fund, an automatic glidepath can be better than drift. But "set and forget" works best when the schedule actually fits your situation — and that's worth checking rather than assuming. For a fuller look at matching risk to your stage of life, see choosing a KiwiSaver fund by age and matching your risk profile to your life stage.

How to check your fund's exact glidepath

You don't have to guess. Every age-based fund's schedule is documented, and you're entitled to see it.

1. Read the fund's SIPO. The Statement of Investment Policy and Objectives sets out the de-risking steps and age bands, and managers of managed investment schemes must maintain it and make it publicly available ². It's usually on the provider's website or via the scheme register at disclose-register.companiesoffice.govt.nz.

2. Check the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and fund updates. These show the target asset mix and current holdings, which let you see where you sit today.

3. Confirm your age band. Match your age to the schedule to see your current target mix and the next step coming up.

4. Sense-check it against your plans. If your real retirement timeline, other assets or goals don't match the schedule's assumptions, that's a flag to look more closely — possibly with advice.

5. Don't forget your PIR. Getting your Prescribed Investor Rate right makes sure you're not overpaying tax on returns at any point on the path; check it at ird.govt.nz.

Reading a SIPO can be heavy going. If you'd rather have someone translate your fund's schedule into plain terms and check whether it lines up with your plans, that's exactly what a review is for.

Frequently asked questions

What is a glidepath in KiwiSaver? It's the pre-set schedule an age-based (lifestages) fund uses to move you out of growth assets and into safer income assets as you get older ¹. Instead of one fixed mix, your split of shares to cash and bonds gradually shifts down the risk scale ⁹, usually targeting age 65 ⁶.

Do all lifestages KiwiSaver funds use the same glidepath? No. "Lifestages" describes the approach, not a standard schedule. Each provider sets its own age bands, de-risking speed and landing mix, so two age-based funds can put someone the same age in noticeably different mixes ². The label alone doesn't tell you how much risk you're carrying — you need to read the fund's SIPO.

What's the difference between a lifestages fund and a target-date fund? Both use a glidepath to de-risk automatically. A lifestages (age-based) fund moves you between mixes as you cross age bands; a target-date fund is built around a single retirement year and glides everyone in it toward that date. For most members the practical difference is small — the actual schedule matters more than the label.

At what age does a KiwiSaver glidepath stop de-risking? Most are designed around age 65, the KiwiSaver and NZ Super qualifying age ⁶. The mix usually lands at conservative rather than cash, because many people draw their balance down gradually over a long retirement rather than all at once. The exact end point varies by fund — check its SIPO ².

How do I find my KiwiSaver fund's exact glidepath? Read the fund's Statement of Investment Policy and Objectives (SIPO), which providers must keep and make public ², plus the Product Disclosure Statement and fund updates. They're on the provider's site or the Disclose register. Match your age to the schedule to see your current and next target mix.

Is an age-based glidepath right for me? That depends on whether the schedule's assumptions — especially a retirement at 65 — match your situation, goals and other assets, none of which the glidepath can see. It's a reasonable default for someone who'd otherwise never review their fund, but it isn't tailored. This is general information; personalised advice can work through whether it fits you.

Want to know the exact glidepath your age-based fund follows, and whether it lines up with your plans? Ask a Smiths adviser to walk you through it. Book a review

General information, not personalised financial advice. It does not take into account your particular financial situation, goals or needs — consider whether it's right for you and seek advice tailored to your circumstances before acting. KiwiSaver is a long-term savings scheme; Government contributions, contribution rates, withdrawal rules and tax (PIR) settings are set by the Government and can change. Figures are correct as at 11 March 2026 — check current rules at ird.govt.nz, kiwisaver.govt.nz and sorted.org.nz. Returns are not guaranteed; the value of investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Craig Smith Business Services Ltd (FSP712931), trading as Smiths Financial, holds a Class 2 licence issued by the Financial Markets Authority and is a member of the Financial Dispute Resolution Service (FDRS). Written by Henry Smith, Financial Adviser; reviewed by Craig Smith, Principal Adviser. Last reviewed 11 March 2026.