KiwiSaver Fund Type Comparison Calculator

This calculator compares how a conservative KiwiSaver fund and a growth fund could grow by the time you retire in New Zealand, revealing the long-term difference your fund choice makes. The fund type you are in is one of the biggest levers on your final KiwiSaver balance, yet many people never change the fund they were defaulted into. A growth fund holds more shares and aims for a higher average return with bigger swings along the way, while a conservative fund holds more bonds and cash for a steadier but lower return. Over a few years the difference is modest, but compounded over decades it becomes dramatic, often tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, because the higher return earns on an ever-larger balance. You enter your current balance, your total annual contributions including employer and government amounts, the years until you withdraw, and the return you assume for a conservative and a growth fund, and the calculator projects each balance and the gap between them. Use it to see what staying in a low-return fund could cost over a long horizon, and to weigh that against the bigger ups and downs a growth fund brings, especially if your withdrawal is years away. Returns vary and are not guaranteed; this is a projection, not advice.

A projection at steady returns; real returns vary year to year and growth funds swing more. Match your fund to how long until you withdraw. Not advice.