Savings for children

Would you like to secure your children’s financial situation for when they step out into adult life? We can help you get started!

Three simple steps to get started

The first advantage of starting to save for children when they’re still young is that even smaller amounts have plenty of time to grow along with the children for many years.

With regular monthly savings in an account or mutual fund, even small amounts can grow over time. Before you start saving for your children, there are some things you need to bear in mind:

1. Are you saving in the child’s or the parent’s name?

You should think about whether you want to save for the child in your name or in the child’s name. There are advantages and disadvantages to both:

Saving in a child’s name?

Advantages:

Savings are secured for the child in the event of their parents’ or guardians’ divorce, death or bankruptcy.
It’s interesting and educational for children to follow their “own” savings.
All trades on behalf of people under the age of 18 must be submitted in writing which ensures good documentation.

Disadvantages:

If the savings are in the child’s name, the child can decide what to do with the money when he/she turns 18 years old.
If the child has assets exceeding 4 G, any educational bursary from the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund will be reduced. Read more about this on the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund’s website.
If the child receives capital in excess of 2 G, the public administrator will help determine how the child’s savings are managed. The guardian/donor may make objections to the public administrator’s co-determination rights in a deed of gift. The objection must be given in writing at the start of the savings period. Use purchase form for people without legal capacity and tick this box.

G is the National Insurance basic amount and is adjusted annually.

As of 1st of May 2023, 1 G is NOK 118 620.

Authorisation form for transferring mutual fund shares to people without legal capacity and children.

Saving in the parents’ names?

Advantages:

Parents/guardians can freely manage children’s funds before and after the child has come of age.
You can decide at which time the child can manage their own savings, and potentially for which purpose.
By saving in the parents’/guardians’ name, the child’s possibility of getting an educational bursary from the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund is not affected. Read more on the Lånekassen website.
It is easier to change savings choices as the overview and trading are available in the online bank for all legally competent customers.

Disadvantages:

In the event of the parents’ or guardians’ divorce, death or bankruptcy, savings for the children form part of the estate’s assets.
There is no inheritance tax in Norway (inheritance tax was removed from and including 2014), but it is likely that this tax will be re-introduced.

2. How long are you going to save for?

How long the money will stay in place can be crucial to determining which savings option you should choose. Savings for children will usually be long-term savings. If you think 10-20 years ahead, saving in an equity fund can be a sensible form of savings to consider. If you want the money to be easily accessible, savings in an account can be a good option.

Saving in an account

Saving in an account might be wise if you are planning to use the money soon or you want the money to be easily available.

Saving in mutual funds

As a rule, saving for children will be a long-term savings plan. If you’re thinking 10-20 years into the future, saving in an equity fund might be a sensible option. There are a number of different funds to choose from.

Historical returns are no guarantee of future returns. Future returns will depend, among other things, on market movements, the skill of the Portfolio Manager, the fund’s risk level, as well as administration costs. The return may also be negative as a result of mark-to-market losses.

Learn more about savings for children

Private banker Thomas explains how to save for children.

3. Getting started!

You have now decided which savings method you want to use and whether you’re going to save in your own or your child’s name. How to get started:

Saving in the child’s name:

Barnas Sparekonto (Children’s savings account)

With Barnas Sparekonto you get a flexible savings account for children aged 0–18 years.

Open a Barnas Sparekonto

Boligspar Ekstra

Home savings for children is a good alternative to saving in an account. The account has a total limit of NOK 300 000. You can start saving for children in Boligspar Extra from when the child is 0 years old. From the age of 18, the child will have access to the account.

Open Boligspar Ekstra

Gift a mutual fund

You can choose between 16 funds that can be given as gifts to the child. You can decide whether you want to insert a lump sum or start monthly savings. The minimum amount is NOK 100.

Read more about giving a mutual fund as a gift
Buy a mutual fund as a gift

Aksjesparekonto for children

With an Aksjesparekonto for children, you can save in shares and mutual funds in the child’s name.

Aksjesparekonto for children

Saving in the parents’ names:

Mutual funds

If you want to save in your name, you can choose which fund you want to buy. Most mutual funds have a minimum amount of NOK 100 and you can choose whether you want to save a fixed amount into the fund you choose every month. If you know which fund you want, go directly to buying a fund under

Read more about mutual funds
Buy mutual funds here

Share savings account

Everyone who saves in mutual funds that have more than 80% shares should have a share savings account. Buy, sell or exchange equity funds without triggering tax along the way.

More about share savings accounts
Open a Aksjesparekonto

Kickstart your savings with Morsom sparing (fun saving schemes)

Why not save for your children every time you use your card, receive holiday pay or impulse save when you have some spare money?

Read more about Morsom sparing (fun saving schemes)

Picture of someone sitting on the floor with the Spare app on their mobile

Download Spare and buy mutual funds in the app!

In the Spare app, you can easily buy mutual funds and gather all your savings in one place.

Download Spare

Read DNB consumer economist Silje Sandmæl’s tips

DNB News · 5 min reading time

DNB Nyheter articles

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Frequently asked questions about savings for children

Can I save if my child is not a customer?

Can assets affect the bursary?

Children from A to Å

Things you should know and things you didn’t see coming

Children from A to Å

Historical returns are no guarantee of future returns. Future returns will depend, among other things, on market developments, the skill of the Portfolio Manager, the mutual fund’s risk, and the management costs. Returns may be negative as a result of mark-to-market losses.