Why a plan moves more than the return
Nobody can set the return. The amount and the start, you can. An example in the NextGen tab, credited once a year: €100 a month from birth to 18 gives €34,666.35 at an assumed 5 % a year. One percentage point more return, so 6 %, would give €38,281.37, which is €3,615.02 more.
€25 more a month at the same 5 % gives €43,332.94, which is €8,666.59 more, with €5,400 more paid in. If the same plan starts only at 6, it ends at €19,614.00, which is €15,052.35 less than from birth.
The amount and the start are in your hands, the return is not. In this example the two move more.
€8,666.59 more at 18 from €25 more a month, against €3,615.02 from one point more return.
Calculated like the NextGen tab: the standing order at the start of each month, the return credited once a year, until the 18th birthday. The return is an assumption, not a promise.
Questions people ask
What changes the end of a savings plan more, the return or the amount?
In the example of €100 a month from birth at 5%, a quarter more a month adds about €8,667 by 18, one point more return about €3,615.
Why does the start of a child's plan matter so much?
Because every year of waiting is a year less of returns on everything paid in. The same plan begun at six ends about €15,052 lower in the example.
Can I choose a higher return?
No. A return is an assumption in the simulation. What can be chosen is how much goes in and from when.
Source: Own calculation, the arithmetic of the NextGen tab, as of 2026-10-29
One plan and three changes to it, side by side.
The simulation, the comparison and the Beam stay free.
Education, not advice. Disclaimer