Fee Burn Visualiser
See what KiwiSaver fees actually cost by the time you retire.
Most KiwiSaver fee tools give you a percentage. This one shows you a dollar number, and then lets you slide a cheaper fund in to watch the burn shrink in real time.
Tell us about your KiwiSaver
Your projected KiwiSaver at age 65
$352,423
Assuming 5% real return p.a, post-inflation, current 1.05% fees, contributions at 6% of salary (member + employer combined). Years remaining: 27.
What you keep$303,540
What your provider keeps in fees$48,883
Now: switch to a fund with this total fee
New projected balance at 65
$387,399
Extra you would keep
+$34,976
A 0.50% reduction in annual fees compounds to $34,976 more in your pocket by age 65. Same returns, same contributions, smaller fee drag.
Side-by-side
The maths
Why a 0.5% fee difference becomes a six-figure difference.
Compounding cuts both ways. Your returns compound, and so do your fees. If your fund grows at 7% a year and charges 1% in fees, your real compounding rate is 6%. Drop fees by 0.5% and your real compounding rate jumps to 6.5%. Over 25-30 years that small percentage gap turns into a chunk of your retirement balance roughly the size of a deposit on a small house.
The visualiser uses your inputs and the standard projection assumptions Sorted publishes (real return after inflation, continuous contribution, fees deducted annually). The number is illustrative, your actual outcome will vary with markets and your contribution behaviour, but the magnitude is real.
How we keep the lights on
Plain English. The same as our statutory FAP disclosure.
Who advises: Craig Smith Business Services Limited (FSP712931), trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, holds a Class 2 licence issued by the Financial Markets Authority. Our principal Craig Smith provides the KiwiSaver advice.
Scope of advice: We give personal financial advice on a defined panel of KiwiSaver schemes. We do not provide personal advice on schemes outside that panel. The website lists the current panel; if you are with another scheme, we can talk you through whether moving to one of ours would suit your situation, but we cannot recommend you stay with or move into a scheme we do not advise on.
How we get paid: Smiths does not charge you fees for advice. When you complete a KiwiSaver with one of our panel schemes, the scheme provider pays us an upfront fee (where applicable) plus an annual trail commission calculated on your balance. Trail rates vary by provider in the range 0.25 % – 0.5 %. We do not adjust our advice based on which scheme pays the higher trail; our advice process is documented and consistently applied.
Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Returns shown on this site are historical (sourced from the FMA Quarterly KiwiSaver Disclosure, Sorted Smart Investor and provider PDS), net of fund fees and at a 28 % PIR unless otherwise stated. Information on this site is general in nature and is not personal financial advice. Personal advice considers your goals, situation and risk tolerance. for that, please contact us.
Full statutory FAP disclosure is at smiths.net.nz/disclosure. The list of advised schemes on the public disclosure document is in the process of being refreshed to reflect recent panel additions; this website lists the current panel, and our advice is given on those schemes only.
Director, Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver
Craig Smith Business Services Ltd · FSP712931 · FMA Class 2