Career Break Investment Impact Calculator NZ 2026/27
Parental leave, study, travel, time between jobs: most working lives include at least one stretch where regular investing stops. The cost of that gap is routinely underestimated, because the obvious way to think about it is to count the contributions you did not make, and that number is only a fraction of the real figure. A contribution made three decades before you need the money is worth many times its face value by the time you do, so skipping it removes both the dollar and everything it would have earned. This page measures the whole effect. It projects your balance with and without the pause, reports the difference against the contributions actually missed, and expresses the result as a multiple so the compounding is visible rather than implied. It then shows two things that change the answer more than the length of the break does. The first is timing: the same pause taken early in a working life costs several times what it costs taken late, because early dollars have the longest to grow, and if the timing is at all flexible that is where the saving is. The second is the catch-up figure, which is the extra monthly contribution needed afterwards to arrive at the same place. Because those catch-up dollars compound too, it is usually far smaller than the headline cost suggests, and it turns an alarming number into something manageable. None of this argues against taking a break, which is a decision about a life rather than a portfolio.
The balance keeps compounding during the break. Only new contributions stop, which is why the cost is driven by contributions missed rather than by the balance standing still.
Cost = the final balance without the break minus the final balance with it. That captures both the missed dollars and the growth they would have produced.
The multiple = cost / contributions missed. It falls slightly as the break lengthens, because the earliest missed contributions are the ones with the longest left to compound.
Catch-up contribution solves for the extra monthly amount over the remaining months that closes the gap exactly, and those catch-up dollars compound as well, which is why the figure is modest.
The return is a steady annual assumption that no real portfolio delivers, so treat the size of the effect as the output rather than any particular balance.
Excluded: tax, fees and inflation, all of which apply equally to both paths and so do not change the comparison; any employer contribution; and any change in income after the break.
KiwiSaver differs. A savings suspension generally stops employer contributions too, and the annual government contribution depends on what you have paid in during the year, so a KiwiSaver pause costs more than the equivalent pause modelled here.
Not financial advice. Last verified: August 2026.
What the break does
| Final balance with no break | $1,218,972.45 |
| Final balance after the break | $1,135,988.73 |
| Cost of the break | $82,983.72 |
| Contributions you did not make | $10,800.00 |
| Growth those contributions would have earned | $72,183.72 |
| Cost as a multiple of contributions missed | 7.68x |
Only about an eighth of the cost is money you did not pay in. The rest is compounding you never received.
How the length of the break changes it
| Break | Contributions missed | Final balance | Cost | Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 months | $1,800.00 | $1,204,531.55 | $14,440.89 | 8.02x |
| 6 months | $3,600.00 | $1,190,340.46 | $28,631.99 | 7.95x |
| 12 months | $7,200.00 | $1,162,690.44 | $56,282.00 | 7.82x |
| 18 months | $10,800.00 | $1,135,988.73 | $82,983.72 | 7.68x |
| 24 months | $14,400.00 | $1,110,202.78 | $108,769.67 | 7.55x |
| 36 months | $21,600.00 | $1,061,253.65 | $157,718.79 | 7.30x |
The multiple falls as the break lengthens, because the earliest missed contributions are the ones with the longest left to compound.
When the break happens matters more
| Break starts in | Final balance | Cost | vs taking it now | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $1,135,988.73 | $82,983.72 | $0.00 | The most expensive time |
| Year 6 | $1,160,435.31 | $58,537.13 | $24,446.59 | Cheaper by waiting |
| Year 11 | $1,177,680.06 | $41,292.39 | $41,691.33 | Cheaper by waiting |
| Year 16 | $1,189,844.59 | $29,127.86 | $53,855.86 | Cheaper by waiting |
| Year 21 | $1,198,425.51 | $20,546.94 | $62,436.78 | Cheaper by waiting |
| Year 26 | $1,204,478.53 | $14,493.91 | $68,489.81 | The cheapest time |
The same eighteen months, moved later, costs a fraction as much. Where the timing is genuinely flexible this is worth more than shortening the break.
The Contributions Missed Are The Small Part
Eighteen months of $600.00 is $10,800.00. That is the number people picture, and it is roughly an eighth of the actual cost.
The final balance falls by $82,983.72, because each contribution skipped would have compounded for the remaining decades. The missing $72,183.72 is growth that never happened.
Expressed as a multiple, the break costs 7.68x what you stopped paying in.
Worked Example: An 18 Month Pause
$60,000.00 already invested, contributing $600.00 a month, thirty years to go, at a 7.00% return.
No break: $1,218,972.45.
With an 18 month break starting now: $1,135,988.73.
The difference is $82,983.72, against contributions missed of $10,800.00.
Timing Beats Length
This is the finding worth acting on. The same eighteen month break costs $82,983.72 starting in year one and $14,493.91 starting in year twenty-six.
That is a difference of $68,489.81 for an identical pause, decided purely by when it happens. Early contributions have the longest to compound, so removing them is what does the damage.
Most breaks are not freely schedulable, and parental leave in particular happens when it happens. Where there is genuine flexibility, though, moving a break later is worth considerably more than making it shorter.
A Longer Break Is Slightly Less Bad Per Month
The multiple falls as the break extends: 8.02x at three months, 7.68x at eighteen, 7.30x at thirty-six.
That is not a reason to extend a break. It reflects the same mechanism from the other direction: the first months of a pause remove the contributions with the longest to grow, so each additional month is marginally less costly than the one before it.
The total still rises steeply. Thirty-six months costs $157,718.79.
Contributing Something Beats Contributing Nothing
The cost scales with the contributions actually missed, so the single most effective mitigation is not stopping entirely.
Halving the contribution during the break roughly halves the cost. On a long break early in a working life that is worth tens of thousands of dollars for a change that is often manageable.
The input for this sits in the left panel. Set the contribution during the break above zero and watch the figure move.
The Catch-Up Is Smaller Than The Cost
An $82,983.72 shortfall sounds unrecoverable. Spread across the remaining years, and compounding along the way, the catch-up contribution needed is modest.
The calculator solves for the extra monthly amount that closes the gap exactly. Because those dollars also earn returns for decades, the required increase is a fraction of what the headline number implies.
That is the practical output of this page: not a reason to avoid a break, but a plan for afterwards. Our compound interest calculator shows the same mechanism working in your favour.
KiwiSaver Is Worse Than This
Everything above models an ordinary investment account. A KiwiSaver savings suspension carries two extra costs.
Employer contributions generally stop when yours do, so the money going in falls by more than your own contribution.
The annual government contribution depends on what you have put in during the year, so a suspension can reduce or remove it.
A KiwiSaver pause therefore costs more than the equivalent pause here. Our KiwiSaver calculator covers the scheme mechanics.
Related NZ Investment Planning Calculators
- Compound Interest Calculator: the mechanism behind the multiple.
- KiwiSaver Calculator: where a pause costs more again.
- Investment Calculator: project contributions without a break.
- Managed Fund Fee Drag Calculator: the other quiet drag on a long horizon.
- First Home Deposit vs Invest Calculator: money with a fixed date attached.