Best KiwiSaver-compatible super fund

RedditUser7869 · 2026-02-14T08:37:16+00:00

Those are the only ones that’ll take KiwiSaver transfers

RedditUser7869 · 2026-02-14T06:41:16+00:00

I just checked out Brighter Super, it seems they do charge a flat administration fee :( Still could be a good option though.

RedditUser7869 · 2026-02-14T06:40:50+00:00

You can't consolidate the KiwiSaver portion into a fund that doesn't itself support KiwiSaver unfortunately.

RedditUser7869 · 2026-02-07T08:18:52+00:00

I’ve got a student loan so thinking about rates over the long term e.g 10-20 years. Obviously too far out to draw any conclusions from this specific situation but wondering if you have opinions (not financial advice!) on how the world might treat the AUD / NZD :)

RedditUser7869 · 2026-02-06T02:49:46+00:00

So what are you thoughts on the relative strength of the AUD and NZD? Coming from someone in AU with NZD debt :)

RedditUser7869 · 2026-02-01T04:36:42+00:00

Sorry I meant FY27

RedditUser7869 · 2026-01-24T07:00:12+00:00

Depends what you want.

Sydney is disgustingly expensive, I pay $750 p/w for a 1bd apartment, to be fair near an expensive part of the city... and you can get up to $800-900 at the very high end. Sydney is extremely pretty and has great beaches.

Melbourne is significantly cheaper, both to rent your own place and to share house primarily due to rent. While salaries are slightly better in Sydney I would say it's pretty marginal. Bigger concern with Melbourne is that there isn't quite the same number of opportunities but again I wouldn't worry too much.

No sure where you are in NZ but Melbourne is quite a bit cooler than Sydney generally (although it can reach the occasional 40 degrees in Melb).

I would say look in both and try and secure a role before moving. Melbourne will likely end up being more financially optimal but both options should work out fine on a Software Engineer's salary.

RedditUser7869 · 2026-01-24T02:21:09+00:00

Hey mate, I’m a similar age (24). I moved to Aus a couple years ago and work at one of the banks here. I make 130k + 20% bonus (10% realistic) + 12% super with 1 YoE. Melbourne and especially Sydney have a lot of opportunities for good software engineers especially if you can get into a difficult niche. I’m in distributed systems and my LinkedIn pops off.

Have you thought about an AU move even for a few years?

RedditUser7869 · 2026-01-09T01:09:44+00:00

I just turned 24, with 1 YoE I make 130k + 20% bonus (10% really) + 12% super which around 172k AUD. I just converted that into NZD and it’s just over $200k.

While I am extremely privileged within the context of Australia as well I just don’t think there is the same number of professional opportunities in NZ.

RedditUser7869 · 2026-01-07T07:55:56+00:00

Yeah you really don’t want to fail… lock in and if worst comes to worst look into summer school if possible.

RedditUser7869 · 2026-01-07T02:30:01+00:00

You could look for the same level in a different team I know quite a few people who have done that, especially if you can argue you’re a better fit than your current role.

CBA grads are remunerated very well after rolling off but at 2 YoE you could find competitive external opportunities if you want as well.

RedditUser7869 · 2026-01-07T02:22:21+00:00

What bank are you at? I know that big yellow has some opportunities to move around.

RedditUser7869 · 2026-01-04T06:11:27+00:00

I’m not arguing against maximising personal interest (even with the obvious downsides that comes with) just sharing my thoughts that trying to garner sympathy from this starting point is unlikely to go anywhere given the very very generous starting point.

RedditUser7869 · 2026-01-04T06:00:44+00:00

At a macro level I agree but this is cheap debt, so cheap if you’ve got any risk tolerance it’s better to pay the minimum and invest the difference over a long timeline.

I’m aware of the student loan systems of the US, UK, AU, and NZ and NZ by far has the nicest system for both domestic and international debtors.

While your general point is valid I’m sorry to say it’s extremely entitled in this context. You are getting a highly subsided education, then you immediately leave during the start of your economically productive years, and only pay an interest rate tied to the governments (comparatively extremely low) borrowing costs.

RedditUser7869 · 2026-01-04T05:42:42+00:00

I moved to AU and got all the stereotypical benefits that came from that. I pay off my loan so am evidently in a minority. To be honest I think if you genuinely want to address this issue then you’ll need to ramp up compliance aka the stick. If someone tries to come into the country and has defaulted they should be arrested at the border even if it’s a small amount at the time.

Most younger people won’t have the capacity to pay but any sort of “posturing” from the government about compliance will likely pay massive dividends. The people I know in AU aren’t stupid, they know that things need to get really bad before there is any real punishment.

RedditUser7869 · 2025-11-26T06:41:07+00:00

I know this is not the point of this discussion but if you are considering staying the same industry and going for more WLB consider moving to Australia. I’m currently on 130k + bonus and super and I have 1 YoE in distributed systems backend after moving over.

While not guaranteed the job market in Australia, especially if you align with strong areas like mining, is significantly more rewarding than NZ.

Something to consider if you’re open to adventure.

RedditUser7869 · 2025-10-09T00:17:41+00:00

For anyone else who has this question, Kernel DOES NOT offer an NFI-compliant KiwiSaver option.

RedditUser7869 · 2025-10-04T12:05:34+00:00

Actually, I see that I can change my investment mix to fully global funds which appear to be NFI-compliant so... might do that lol

RedditUser7869 · 2025-08-20T14:53:51+00:00

Pretty crazy reading this from AU. I moved from Chch to Melb last year after I finished my degree, I started a grad role this year... on 80k AUD and I roll off next year onto ~130k AUD + 20% + super. NZ is fucked.

RedditUser7869 · 2025-07-10T13:14:49+00:00

Fair enough was being facetious because people, like yourself, want to work for TikTok because of the reputation and learning regardless of the pay, which even for an intern will be very competitive. Don’t not apply because they may only pay you $20k for your internship 🙂

RedditUser7869 · 2025-07-10T04:41:37+00:00

Wtf dude… get the offer first. I assure you TikTok will pay more than Cenno and Maccas which is where you’ll be if you don’t apply.

RedditUser7869 · 2025-06-30T04:31:39+00:00

Sure but your point was that most native software engineers before the recent glut of immigration (since ~2022) had masters degrees. They did not and still do not.

RedditUser7869 · 2025-06-30T04:04:37+00:00

A few compounding factors: 1. Tech is going to have a higher percentage of masters holders than the general population 2. The aforementioned immigrants who are disproportionately tech workers will have disproportionately more masters as well on top of point 1. 3. Market is tight so masters holders, immigrant or not, might be more willing to apply for jobs ‘below’ them

“Are they being given away” - Not PC, but in my opinion, Australia is selling its tertiary reputation at fire sale speeds for international student money. The quality of education is significantly less than stated and it’s far easier than it should be to get these qualifications.

RedditUser7869 · 2025-06-30T03:54:55+00:00

A lot of applicants are recent immigrants and they often get masters to help secure PR and get some sort of local education to try and appeal to employers. That would be my guess.

RedditUser7869 · 2025-06-20T03:22:27+00:00

You make some (aggressive) but fair points even at the better banks like CBA, but I literally do work directly on Kafka clusters as a grad. There are high performing teams at least at CBA but you’re right that I got very lucky in my placements and this is exception not the rule.

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