Spend enough time around young children and it’s hard not to think about how uncertain their future looks.
While they’re blissfully unaware of the world that awaits them, adults are left pondering today’s turbulent times, and asking themselves big questions such as – what will house prices look like when they’re grown up? What will retirement even mean for their generation? How different will the world be twenty or thirty years from now?
Them? Well, they’re not spending a second thinking about the long-term future. They’re more concerned with winning the next game of Snap, convincing someone to watch them do a cartwheel for the fifteenth time, or building the biggest and most elaborate house possible out of magnetic blocks.
The truth is that we have absolutely no idea what the future will look like. But that’s not to say that you couldn’t plan for the future that you want. In fact, some people would argue that the uncertainty is exactly why you should have a plan.
However you look at it, we can all do our bit to teach kids good habits. We can help them understand money. We can give them access to tools that might make life a little easier down the track.
And that’s really where the idea of Kids KiwiSaver comes in.
Getting a headstart in life
The funny thing about a kid’s KiwiSaver account for an adult who funds it (on behalf of a child), is that it’s often less about the product of KiwiSaver, and more about the goodwill behind it.
Most parents, grandparents and families have a natural desire to give children a better start than they had. A KiwiSaver plan just happens to be one of the ways they could do that.
Ask ten different families how they’d invest for a child’s future and you might get ten different answers. Some could choose a KiwiSaver plan, some could invest elsewhere (for example, in property), while others might do a combination of different things.
In reality, every option comes with trade-offs. Anecdotally, we recognise that what quickly becomes apparent when first diving into this topic is how easy it is to get caught up trying to find the “best” solution. The best provider. The best strategy. And so on. Sometimes we forget that getting started is often more important than getting it perfect.
After all, a child with something invested for their future is generally going to be in a stronger position than a child with nothing invested at all.
The natural advantage of time
In financial services, and specifically in the investments industry, one lesson gets reinforced over and over again: Time matters.
When it comes to building wealth through investing, the odds of success can be stacked more in your favour when you approach it through a long-term lens. Therefore, time is one of the most valuable assets anyone can have. The ideal scenario is to have decades for contributions to accumulate. Decades for returns to compound. Decades to recover from market downturns and to benefit from long-term growth.
That’s one of the strongest arguments in favour of kids having a KiwiSaver account. Not because it’s perfect, but because it gives children a chance to start early and to benefit from having time on their side
Money talks
One of the most underrated parts of opening a KiwiSaver account for a child is the conversations it creates about money, about investing, and about long-term thinking.
Those conversations might not seem particularly important in the moment, but they can shape how somebody thinks about money for years afterwards.
Sometimes the value isn’t just in the money itself. It’s in the conversations that come with it, and the habits that they feed. For New Zealanders, you could argue that this should be more of a priority – a recent study highlighted that only 43% of Kiwis feel financially literature, while less than half (44%) of those surveyed said they felt prepared for retirement1.
In parallel, the structure of KiwiSaver itself is another reason why some families choose it.
Money invested through KiwiSaver is generally much harder to access than money sitting in a standard savings or investment account. For some families, that’s a disadvantage. After all, who knows what a four-year-old is going to need when they’re twenty-five? Equally, a parent might like the idea of empowering their child to make their own financial decisions free from the access constraints of KiwiSaver.
At the same time, however, it doesn’t need to be an either-or conversation. A child’s future isn’t built around a single goal. As an example, it may involve travel, study, a first home, retirement, career changes, and opportunities that we can’t predict yet.
That’s why many families think about KiwiSaver as one tool in the toolbox rather than the toolbox itself. It can sit alongside other investments rather than replacing them.
Ultimately, whether that’s an advantage or a disadvantage depends on what you’re trying to achieve.
Examples
To bring this to life a bit more, consider these two examples.
- You invest $50 dollars into a KiwiSaver product – let’s say the Summer Balanced Selection Fund – for a child on their 5th birthday. And you invest $50 a month thereafter, until they turn 18. Assuming the annualised growth rate at the time of publishing stays at 5.5% for the duration of that time period, by the time the child turns 18 the KiwiSaver pot will be worth $9,515.
- Instead of investing, you put $50 dollars into a zero-interest cash account for a kid on their 5th birthday. And you top up $50 a month thereafter, until they turn 18. By the time the child turns 18, the pot will be worth $7,850.
In order to give you these examples, we’re making some assumptions. For example, in the first case, the growth rate is unlikely to stay consistent – as an active investment manager, we’re actually striving to increase that growth rate. At the same time, we need to recognise that short-term periods of market turbulence may potentially have a negative effect.
But the core message is that investing over time is an effective way to grow a nest-egg, if you’re prepared to take more risk than simply leaving it in a cash account.
Bottom line
The reality is that none of us know what the future holds, and each of us has different financial priorities at any one moment in time.
The value of KiwiSaver for kids, however, is that it works away quietly in the background of life. While the kids are busy playing and living in the moment, their nest-egg is being put to work by professional investors across global markets, sectors and asset classes.
If the goal is to give your little one a headstart in life, it’s worthing looking into KiwiSaver.
FAQ: KiwiSaver for kids
Can kids have KiwiSaver?
Yes, there is no minimum age to join KiwiSaver, so even newborns can have an account opened for them. Summer also offers KiwiSaver accounts for children, which can be opened by a parent or legal guardian on their behalf.
How does KiwiSaver work for kids?
The money is invested, via a KiwiSaver scheme provider, in a chosen fund which is managed by professional investors who aim to grow it over time. Because the account belongs to the child, a parent or legal guardian will generally manage it on their behalf while the child is under 16.
What are the benefits of opening a kid’s KiwiSaver account?
- Gives children more time for their investments to grow (vs. starting later in life).
- Allows investment returns to compound over many years.
- Can help build awareness of saving and investing from an early age.
- Provides a way for parents, grandparents, and other family members to contribute.
- May help with future goals such as buying a first home.
- Creates opportunities for conversations about money and long-term thinking.
Can I open a KiwiSaver account for my child online?
Yes. If you’ve chosen Summer as your KiwiSaver provider, you can apply online on behalf of your child. The application can usually be completed digitally; you will need to provide the kid’s IRD number, date of birth, your NZ or AU driver licence number or your passport, and your address.
How to open a kid’s KiwiSaver account
- Choose a KiwiSaver provider that suits your family’s needs.
- Complete an application on behalf of your child.
- Provide identification and any supporting documents requested by the provider.
- Choose an investment fund.
- Submit the application.
- Once the account is open, regular contributions can be made by parents, grandparents, and other family members.
What documents are needed to set up a kid’s KiwiSaver account?
The exact requirements can vary between providers, but you’ll need the following in order to start your KiwiSaver account with Summer:
- IRD number for the child
- Identification for one parent or legal guardian.
- The birth certificate of the child
- Any additional documents requested by the provider.
Will they still get the government contribution?
Children under 16 are not currently eligible for the KiwiSaver government contribution. Once they turn 16, they may become eligible if they meet the government’s eligibility requirements at the time.
Can my child use their KiwiSaver balance to buy their first home?
Many families see a first home as one of the potential benefits of a kid’s KiwiSaver plan. If your child meets the eligibility requirements in the future, their KiwiSaver balance may be able to be used towards a home deposit.
Market commentary, September 2026