New Zealand’s financial services employers are planning the smallest pay rises of any major sector next year, and the increase they have pencilled in falls short of the current rate of inflation.
Aon’s 2026 Salary Increase and Turnover Study puts the median projected pay rise for financial services organisations at 3% for 2027. That is slightly lower than the 3.1% they delivered this year. Financial services is the only industry in the published breakdown expecting a smaller rise than in 2026, although Aon noted the sector’s sample was small.
Across the whole market, employers expect a median increase of 3.4% in 2027, up from 3.2% this year. Consulting, business and community services, life sciences and medical devices, and technology are all projecting 3.5%. Manufacturing is at 3.4%.
The projections land with inflation running well above the Reserve Bank’s target band. Stats NZ figures show annual CPI at 3.7% in the September 2026 quarter, down from 4.1% in the June quarter. Measured against that rate, a 3% rise would leave the typical financial services worker behind on living costs unless inflation falls further.
KiwiSaver adds to the bill
Aon’s salary figures exclude employer KiwiSaver contributions, which got more expensive on April 1 when the compulsory employer rate went up from 3% to 3.5%. According to Inland Revenue, the rate will rise again to 4% on April 1, 2028. So employers’ total employment costs are climbing faster than headline pay.
“New Zealand employers are continuing to invest in pay, but this is not a significant reset in salary spending. They are also managing wider workforce costs, including higher KiwiSaver contributions,” said Yvette O’Reilly, Aon’s talent data solutions business leader for the Pacific.
O’Reilly said employers should focus spending on areas where their pay is out of step with the market and on skills that are hardest to replace.
Turnover and the talent squeeze
Median voluntary turnover was 9.4% over the 12 months to June 1, 2026, based on the organisations that reported it. Aon warned that some industry-level turnover samples were too small to represent their sectors.
Belinda Armenta, Aon’s head of talent data solutions for Asia Pacific, said national averages were only a starting point. Employers would get more value from combining pay data with information on staff movement and the capabilities they need.
For brokerages and insurers, the numbers arrive at an awkward moment. The sector is already dealing with a talent market squeezed at both the junior and senior ends. Firms are also competing hard for experienced staff, and some argue private ownership gives smaller brokers an edge. A pay budget that trails both inflation and other industries makes that competition harder. It also adds to pressure on the senior people firms are deploying to meet growing client demand for advice.
Commercial clients’ wage bills matter here too. Rising wages and KiwiSaver costs feed into the payroll figures behind business interruption wages cover, so brokers may want to check those declarations at renewal.
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