The Green Party will introduce a national savings scheme for all New Zealand children.
Our Kids’ Kiwi Saver scheme will be a game changer for our children who, with careful saving, can start adulthood with a nest egg of $12,900 that they can use to help fund a good education.
Kids’ KiwiSaver will:
Be universal: The Government will put $1,000 into a Kids’ KiwiSaver account for every child at birth.
Be progressive: Families living below the poverty line will get a government top-up of $200 each year. Any contributions they make up to $100 will also be matched that year.
Encourage saving: For all other families, annual contributions up to $200 will be matched by government.
Empower choices: At age 18, the savings can be used for a deposit on a first home, pay for tertiary education, or be shifted into an adult KiwiSaver account.
Cost: $224 million over the first three years.
Today’s students are typically graduating with $19,000 of student debt. Our policy will put a significant dent in that amount of debt and more than halve the current seven years it takes to repay the loan.
When it comes to getting into a first home, an 18-year-old who rolls their savings into an adult KiwiSaver account and starts work earning a Living Wage could turn their initial sum of $12,900 into $110,000 by age 35 – a significant deposit on a first home.
Additional documents:
Kids' KiwiSaver policy
Read the Infometrics costings
Kids' KiwiSaver summary