Kindersparen

Children's savings is a simple way to build up capital for your child or grandchild step by step. You do this through a savings insurance, usually with yourself as the parent or grandparent as the policyholder and the (grand)child as the beneficiary. You decide how much you pay in and how often: a fixed monthly amount, an annual deposit, or the occasional top-up for a birthday or a communion. Unlike pension savings or long-term savings, children's savings does not give you any tax relief. Its strength lies elsewhere: in time, in compound interest, and in the option to pass the capital on tax-efficiently later.

When saving over the long term, time often matters more than the amount you set aside. That is down to compound interest: the return you build up itself goes on to earn more. Those who start early let that snowball effect do its work for years and have to pay in less themselves to reach the same final capital. A long horizon has a second advantage. It leaves room to invest part in Branch 23, where the potential return is higher. Temporary swings on the market can even out over 15 or 20 years, so you can bear the risk better than someone with a short savings horizon.

Raising a child costs more than many people think. According to calculations by the Gezinsbond (the Flemish family association, August 2026), a child costs between 440 and 838 euros a month, depending on its age. That is the extra income an average household needs in order to keep the same standard of living with a child as without. And that is before childcare, study costs, and medical costs are even counted, let alone inflation. In practice the real cost is therefore quite a bit higher. Add it all up until the child is 25 and you quickly arrive at large amounts. NN estimated that total cost at around 157,000 euros over the first 24 years. That is precisely why it pays to build up a nest egg in good time, especially with an eye on the most expensive period: the studies and standing on one's own feet.

Children's savings runs through a savings insurance in which you decide for yourself how cautiously or how dynamically you invest. You choose between Branch 21, Branch 23, or a combination of the two, and you set out who receives the capital later. Usually you, as the parent or grandparent, are the policyholder who makes the deposits, while the child is the beneficiary. You can pay in extra at any time, pause the deposits temporarily, or adjust the amount to your situation.

We happily insure our car with an omnium policy, but what about our most important asset: our children? What if, as a parent, you are suddenly no longer there? Life Experts calls this thought experiment the 'omnium-ouders', an omnium cover for parents. You can, in fact, attach a death benefit to a savings goal for your child. If a parent falls away, that cover ensures there is still enough capital to keep giving the child its chances: upbringing, studies, a safe start. Through the levenscomfort kind cover (a child living-standard cover from NN), such protection can be built in. Life Experts uses its own calculation model to work out how much capital is needed, taking into account the child's age, expected inflation, and any extra study costs. The amount to be insured then falls gradually as the child grows older and the remaining period shortens. A properly structured death benefit for a child can moreover be tax-neutral: the child is then the policyholder and beneficiary, and a parent the insured, so the payout in principle falls outside the estate.

From practice we draw a few rules of thumb that make the difference:

Children's savings is not bound by a tax straitjacket. You get no tax relief on your deposits, as you would with pension savings or long-term savings, but you are also far freer: you choose the amount, the pace, and the end date yourself. A premium tax of 2% is due on the premiums paid into an individual savings insurance. With a Branch 21 contract, the return can be exempt from withholding tax on movable income (roerende voorheffing), for example with a term of at least 8 years and 1 day or a death cover of at least 130%. The real added value of children's savings lies in the transfer of wealth. During your lifetime you can already give to your (grand)child, for example through a bank gift or hand gift, or through a notarial gift. If you give without registering, the gift stays tax-free provided you go on living for at least 5 more years afterwards; if you register the gift, the gift tax in the direct line is 3%. Through the beneficiary designation in the policy you also pass the capital on in a targeted way, and a well-structured contract can thus help limit the later inheritance tax. This is tailored work: our advisers look together with you at which structure best suits your family and your wealth. The rates of inheritance tax in the direct line differ by region: