Sharesies will contribute 25 cents for every dollar put into eligible children’s KiwiSaver accounts under a new initiative ACT Leader David Seymour says will help young New Zealanders “get real skin in the game.”

The investment platform announced it would top up KiwiSaver contributions for children under 16 between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027.

The contribution is capped at $100 per eligible child and will be paid between July and August 2027.

Seymour described the move as a generous initiative that would help more young New Zealanders get started on the path to saving, investing and ownership.

He said he had spoken earlier this year about the need to give young New Zealanders a practical introduction to investing.

“I believe if we stop treating young people as passive observers in the economy and start equipping them to become active creators of wealth, young New Zealanders will have more profitable lives,” Seymour said.

He has previously proposed the government put $500 in a controlled investment account for every Year 11 student, with a structured pathway into real investing.

Seymour said about five percent of the annual KiwiSaver subsidy would fund that proposal.

“If we introduce young New Zealanders to these concepts earlier in life, and help them get real skin in the game, we’ll be setting them up for a much more prosperous future.”

“A generation of savvy, financially literate young Kiwis will increase productivity more drastically than almost anything else,” he said.

Seymour said the change would shift how young people viewed the economy.

“Imagine the culture change. Instead of being taught to channel their economic frustration into blaming others’ success, we would be teaching young Kiwis to see themselves as owners, investors, participants, and decision-makers,” he said.

Seymour congratulated Sharesies on the initiative and said he looked forward to seeing its impact over the year ahead.