The financial watchdog is keeping a close eye on the fees being charged by KiwiSaver providers.

The Financial Market Authority's latest KiwiSaver annual report shows fund managers charged almost $539 million in the year to March - but funds lost $801 million dollars over the period due to Covid 19.

Authority regulation director Liam Mason told Mike Hosking officials are monitoring whether providers are continuing to charge reasonable fees.

He says there has been movement from some providers and fees aren't going up, but they're going to need to put some pressure on the industry.

'We're closely monitoring fees, but expect them to decline in the coming years."

Mason says investment returns may have fallen, but KiwiSaver contributions have increased, and that should bring down fees.

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