A KiwiSaver account for your child works like any other KiwiSaver account. Money goes in, it gets invested, and none of it comes out until a first home or retirement. It's one of the few financial decisions you can make for them that just keeps compounding quietly in the background, long after you've stopped thinking about it.

Maybe you haven't opened one for your child yet, caught between wanting to do it properly and never quite finding the afternoon for it. Maybe you have, and it's sitting there, opened with good intentions and not much else. Either way, underneath the paperwork, the question is the same: what would this turn into for them, and is it worth doing properly?

That's what our KiwiSaver calculator is for: turning the question into an actual number.

Benefits of setting up a KiwiSaver account for your child

There's a reason a KiwiSaver account suits a child so well: it can only be touched for a first home or retirement, both firmly long-term goals, and getting started doesn't require any minimum contribution at all.

The real benefit comes down to time. Starting early gives compound growth decades to work with, so the money isn't just sitting there, it's building on itself year after year. Over the course of childhood, even a modest and consistent contribution can build into something substantial by the time your child is ready to buy a home. Once you understand how these accounts work for minors, it also becomes something the wider family, parents and grandparents alike, can get behind and contribute to. Start earlier, and the money has longer to grow.

Kōura adds one more benefit specifically: no annual membership fee under 18, which matters more than itnm sounds for an account that isn't being funded heavily yet (more on that further down).

How to use Kōura’s Forecast Your Future for your child's account

Our KiwiSaver calculator turns those benefits into a real projection for your family, rather than leaving them as ideas. Head to Kōura Forecast Your Future tool here and follow the steps below to see the projected KiwiSaver balance for your child:

1. Enter your child's current age and existing balance (zero is fine if there's no account yet, or you're starting contributions from scratch).
2. Put the annual salary at $0, your contributions at 0% and the employer contributions at 0%.
3. Add the yearly contribution amount you're considering to the voluntary contributions and pick a fund type (we strongly recommend aggressive for a child’s KiwiSaver account).To work out the yearly contribution amount, multiply your weekly contribution by 52 or monthly contribution by 12, e.g. $20 per week is $1040 (20 x 52), $100 per month is $1200 (100 x 12).
4. Set "years to first home" to either 18 to see the projected balance when they turn 18 from your contributions, or the age you estimate they might use their KiwiSaver balance towards their first home.
5. Toggle on the “break down amounts” under the graph to see the impact of the Government Contribution once they turn 16.

Worth running it more than once. Try $15 a week, then $30, then whatever you're considering. That gap, run over the years your child has, says more than any example ever could.

Opening an account, if you haven't yet - how to open kiwisaver for kids

If your child is under 18 years of age, at least one legal guardian needs to contact a scheme provider directly, since it can't go through an employer, to open a KiwiSaver account. You'll need proof of guardianship, usually a birth certificate, and the child's IRD number.

If you're considering Kōura specifically, you can work out a portfolio before any of the nitty-gritty guardianship details come into it. Our Guided Choice tool asks a few questions and generates a recommended portfolio for your child's account. The custom-built option is more hands-on, letting you set your own percentages across each of Kōura's ten funds instead. Either way, the guardianship details only get entered once you're happy with the portfolio and choose to switch!

The projected balance only happens with a contribution schedule

The calculator will show you a projection for whatever amount you enter. That number only becomes real if the same amount leaves an account on a schedule, weekly or monthly, set up as an automatic payment rather than something you mean to get to. An account that exists but isn't being contributed to stays wherever it started, regardless of what any forecast calculator says.

Fund choice affects the outcome as much as the amount does

A Conservative fund and a Growth fund holding the same contributions over the same stretch of years can land in very different places. A longer time horizon can absorb short-term market drops better than a shorter one can, and a kid's account has about the longest horizon KiwiSaver offers anyone, which is generally why Growth or Aggressive is the recommended fund type choice. This is worth checking again as your child gets closer to their first-home goal.

One cost that doesn't apply

Here's one you don't have to weigh up: Kōura waives its $30 annual membership fee for every account holder under 18. Fund fees still apply, same as any KiwiSaver account, but that flat cost doesn't.

Your child won't know this account exists for a long time. They won't know what a fund is, or what compounding means, or that you sat down one evening and worked out what you could actually afford to put in. They'll just grow up, and one day, when a first home deposit is the thing standing in their way, find that an earlier version of you already took care of part of it. Whatever's sitting in that account will be there because of a decision you made back when they were too young to know what KiwiSaver even was.

FAQs

How do I use a KiwiSaver calculator for kids?

Enter your child's current age and existing balance, your planned voluntary contribution, and a fund type, then set "years to first home" to however far off you expect that to be. Kōura's calculator will project a balance based on those numbers.

How do I open a KiwiSaver account for my child?

Under 16, a legal guardian contacts a scheme provider directly, with proof of guardianship and the child's IRD number. At 16 or 17, the child can apply themselves with one guardian co-signing.

How do I switch to Kōura?

Switching to Kōura takes less than 2 minutes once you’ve got a portfolio! Use any of our generator tools here to create a portfolio and have your kid’s details ready to switch over at the end!

Is a kids' KiwiSaver account locked up until 18 or 65?

The only planned access before retirement is a first-home withdrawal, which needs three years of KiwiSaver membership rather than a set age. Outside of that, or genuine hardship and serious illness, the money stays invested.

Does Kōura charge fees on a kids' account?

Fund fees apply as they would on any account, but the $30 annual membership fee is waived for members under 18 years.

What type of KiwiSaver fund suits a child's account?

Generally, a High-Growth or Aggressive fund type, since a longer time horizon can better absorb short-term market swings.

If you have any more questions around setting up a KiwiSaver account for your child, or switching over to Kōura (yay!) you can call us on 0800 527 547 or email us at [email protected].

Disclaimers:

*This content is meant for informational purposes. Kōura Wealth Limited is the issuer and manager of the Kōura KiwiSaver Scheme. A copy of the Product Disclosure Statement is available at kourawealth.co.nz/documents.

*Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Returns are not guaranteed, and investment values may fluctuate over time. It is important to focus on long-term financial goals rather than short-term market fluctuations or recent performance trends.

*Kōura's $30 annual membership fee is waived for members under 18. Fund fees still apply.