Source: Radio New Zealand
The number of people aged under 17 in KiwiSaver has halved in the past decade. Unsplash
KiwiSaver providers say kids are missing out on a chance to have time to supercharge their returns.
The number of people aged under 17 in KiwiSaver has halved in the past decade.
In June 2015, there were 368,079 kids in KiwiSaver, but that had dropped to 169,409 last June.
The $1000 kickstart that used to be offered to all new KiwiSaver enrolments was removed in 2015.
Kernel founder Dean Anderson said it was a worry that fewer children had accounts.
“We want to see serious political discussion this election on KiwiSaver settings – starting with the roughly half a billion dollars a year the government spends on contributions. Right now that’s largely a tax credit flowing to the middle class. Redirected, it could have a far more meaningful impact for New Zealand.”
He said it could instead be directed to younger people, who would then have the benefit of it compounding over their lifetimes.
Kernel founder Dean Anderson. Supplied / Kernel
“Youth unemployment is now at 14.4 percent nationally – 18.7 percent in Auckland and 23.5 percent for young Māori. These are the rangatahi who most need a solid financial footing, especially in a world of AI, and the key to building one is getting them engaged early with their own dollars.
“With the right settings – government seeding from birth, parent matching where families can, full engagement from 16 – the average 18-year-old could enter the workforce with $10,000 to $20,000 already behind them. Not a handout. A foundation. And we are seeing the demand, one of our most requested products at Kernel is for kids investing accounts, including kids KiwiSaver – which we have on our radar.”
Sharesies said it hoped to encourage participation by offering a contribution of 25 cents in every dollar for children’s KiwiSaver accounts on its platform, up to $100 during the 2026/27 contribution year.
It would apply to contributions made to the accounts of people under 16 from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 and would be paid directly into the child’s KiwiSaver account, between July and August 2027.
Co-founder Brooke Roberts said that could have an outsize impact over time. She calculated if $500 was contributed into a KiwiSaver account when a child was born and nothing more until retirement, at 65, using an aggressive fund type this could end up worth $26,500.
Sharesies co-founder Brooke Roberts. RNZ / Angus Dreaver
“The earlier a child is invested, the harder time works for them. We want to help parents and guardians to take that step sooner and we’re backing that with our own contribution.”
She said she wanted to advocate for more people to be able to save for retirement as soon as possible and start building a future nest egg whether it was for a first home or retirement.
“The most valuable aspect of money is time. And so the earlier that people can use that time, the better for more opportunities to grow them into the future.”
She said Sharesies had only recently launched KiwiSaver for kids but there were 100,000 kids accounts on the wider Sharesies platform.
Roberts said the intention was to see how the contribution worked this year and determine from that point whether it continued.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand