Real life KiwiSaver examples
KiwiSaver situations I see in sessions, worked through with the numbers. Each one shows the decision that mattered and what it could be worth over time.
Examples here are not a forecast and not advice for your situation. Real returns go up and down, and the right fund depends on your own timeframe and how you feel about a bad year. How the projections are built, line by line, is written out in two KiwiSaver projections, worked end to end.
The first-home couple who thought KiwiSaver had done its job
A couple I met had just bought their first home with their KiwiSaver, leaving the $1,000 that has to stay in each account. They figured KiwiSaver had done its job and had not looked at it for months. He was 32 and earning $80,000; she was 31 and earning $75,000. With more than 30 years before they could use the money, they were still in a balanced fund.
In our session we projected both accounts to 65, in the fund type they were in and in the aggressive fund I recommended for that timeframe. Same people, same salaries, same contributions. The only change is the fund type.
| Fund | At 65 | Today's money |
|---|---|---|
| Balanced3.5% a year | $1,177,000 | $594,000 |
| Aggressive5.5% a year | $1,675,000 | $846,000 |
| Difference | $498,000 | $252,000 |
Where the money comes from
The contributions are identical in both fund types, so the whole difference is investment growth.
| Line | Him | Her |
|---|---|---|
| Their own | $202,000 | $199,000 |
| Employerafter ESCT | $134,000 | $133,000 |
| Government | $6,000 | $7,000 |
| Balance at 65balanced | $587,000 | $589,000 |
| Balance at 65aggressive | $831,000 | $843,000 |
The assumptions
- Each contributing 3.5% of salary, rising to 4% from 1 April 2028, with the employer matching. Employer contributions are shown after employer superannuation contribution tax (ESCT).
- Salaries rising 3.5% a year, contributing every year up to 65.
- The government contribution of up to $260.72 a year, until a rising salary passes the $180,000 income limit.
- Returns of 3.5% a year (balanced) and 5.5% a year (aggressive), after fees and after PIE tax, the same every year.
- 2% inflation, used only to show the result in today's money.
Rates and rules current at November 2026. Aggressive funds fall further in bad years, and it is the right answer here only because the money is not needed for more than 30 years. For someone buying a home in the next few years, the logic runs the other way. The full story is in the first-home couple who thought KiwiSaver had done its job. To see your own numbers, use the KiwiSaver calculator or bring your KiwiSaver to a free session.
The deposit saver who stepped down the risk before buying
This one is a situation I see all the time. Someone aged 30, earning $75,000, with $22,000 in KiwiSaver, plans to buy their first home in five years. The question is not how to get the biggest balance. It is how to make sure the deposit is still there in the month the lawyer asks for it.
The plan was three years in a balanced fund, then, once the purchase was close enough that a bad year could not be recovered from, two years in a conservative fund. That gives up a little growth at the end and removes the chance of the deposit shrinking just before settlement.
| Line | At 35 | Today's money |
|---|---|---|
| Balancebalanced, then conservative | $55,000 | $50,000 |
| Kept in KiwiSavermust stay in the account | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Available for the home | $54,000 | $49,000 |
Where the money comes from
Over five years the contributions do nearly all the work. Growth adds about $6,000, which is why reaching for a high-risk fund this close to buying has a small upside and a large downside.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Starting balance | $22,000 |
| Their own | $15,000 |
| Employerafter ESCT | $11,000 |
| Government | $1,000 |
| Investment growth | $6,000 |
| Balance at 35 | $55,000 |
The assumptions
- Contributing 3.5% of salary, rising to 4% from 1 April 2028, with the employer matching. Employer contributions are shown after employer superannuation contribution tax (ESCT) at 30%, which took about $4,600 of the employer's money before it reached the account.
- Salary rising 3.5% a year from $75,000.
- The government contribution of up to $260.72 a year, every year.
- Returns of 3.5% a year (balanced) for three years, then 2.5% a year (conservative) for two, after fees and after PIE tax, the same every year.
- 2% inflation, used only to show the result in today's money.
Rates and rules current at 10 August 2026, when this projection was run. A conservative fund is the right answer here only because the money is needed within a few years. For money not needed for decades, the logic runs the other way, as Example 1 shows. Every line of this projection is worked through in saving for a first home over five years. To see your own numbers, use the KiwiSaver calculator or bring your KiwiSaver to a free session.
The parents who started their child's KiwiSaver at 5, not 18
Parents often ask me whether it is worth opening a KiwiSaver account for a young child, or whether to wait until they start work. Here a child joins at 5 with $100, and the parents put in $80 a month, about $20 a week, until the child starts full-time work at 20. By then the account holds about $23,000.
We compared that with the same parents waiting until 18 to start. Same child, same job, same fund. The only change is when the parents start.
| Start | At 25 | Today's money |
|---|---|---|
| At 18parents pay in for 2 years | $38,000 | $26,000 |
| At 5parents pay in for 15 years | $65,000 | $44,000 |
| Difference | $27,000 | $18,000 |
Where the money comes from
Starting at 5 costs the parents $12,480 more over 13 years. By 25 it is worth about $27,000 more, because the early money has had the longest to grow.
| Line | Start at 18 | Start at 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Parentsincluding the $100 to open | $2,000 | $14,500 |
| Their ownfrom age 20 | $17,200 | $17,200 |
| Employerafter ESCT | $11,900 | $11,900 |
| Government | $1,800 | $2,300 |
| Investment growth | $5,300 | $19,400 |
| Balance at 25 | $38,200 | $65,300 |
The assumptions
- $100 to open the account, then $80 a month from the parents until the child turns 20.
- Full-time work from 20 on $80,000, rising 3.5% a year. The child contributes 4% of salary and the employer matches, the rates that apply from 1 April 2028. Employer contributions are shown after employer superannuation contribution tax (ESCT), at 30% and then 33% in the final year.
- The government contribution of 25 cents per dollar from age 16, counting the parents' payments: $240 a year until 20, then $260.72 a year.
- An aggressive fund returning 5.5% a year after fees and after PIE tax, the same every year.
- 2% inflation, used only to show the result in today's money, 20 years from now.
- No part-time work as a teenager, which would add to both balances.
Rates and rules current at November 2026. An aggressive fund suits a child because the money is not needed for many years; as a first home gets close, the logic in Example 2 applies. How to open a child's account, who can contribute and what the money can be used for are covered in KiwiSaver for children, along with my video on starting early. To see your own numbers, use the KiwiSaver calculator or bring your family's KiwiSaver to a free session.