Ryan Bridge: Should National campaign on a partial float?

They haven't said it explicitly yet, but one day soon, our KiwiSaver contributions will rise to 12% and Kiwibank will be partially sold to foreign buyers.

On the bank, Nicola Willis is flying a kite and talking about a potentially partial float of the stock exchange for the wee Kiwi battler. It needs capital to grow and take on the big banks.

They're getting access to an extra half a billion through changes already announced. But they could yet get more, should National campaign on a partial float.

Guest Post: KiwiSaver, the employment contract and Budget 2025

A guest post on Kiwiblog by Michael Littlewood:

KiwiSaver is about to change again. The Budget announced an increase in the minimum employee contribution (from 3% to 4%) over three years and in the matching minimum contributions paid by employers.

The government is also cutting its own contribution from a 50% match to the first $1,042.86 of members’ contributions to 25%. So, the maximum taxpayer subsidy drops from $521.43 a year to $260.72. It will also be income-tested so that the highest paid employees (receiving more than $180,000 will lose that.

Mike's Minute: We are housing snobs

A housing development for you.

A housing development that once again shows how reality beats theory.

Housing is a New Zealand obsession. We love housing and we long to own housing.

Mike's Minute: KiwiSaver reality vs ideology

Given the issues around KiwiSaver, it’s a miracle any of us save anything to become remotely independent in retirement.

Last week we told you about the Morningstar rankings and how the biggest operator in the market was performing so poorly, and now we have yet another crack at where the money is actually invested.

Professor Robert MacCulloch: The Finance Minister's Solution to Big Bank Oligopoly.....

The Finance Minister's Solution to Big Bank Oligopoly: Make You Pay for a Dirty Deal Replete with Kick Backs that Sells Out 3 Million KiwiSaver holders.

What's the object of Kiwi Saver? To build up retirement savings of New Zealanders by giving us the opportunity to earn high returns during our working careers. 

Yesterday Finance Minister Willis sabotaged that aim by announcing she would ask Kiwi Saver Fund Providers to invest up to $500 million in Kiwibank to try making it more competitive.

Guest Post: KiwiSaver – is it ‘working’?

A guest post on Kiwiblog by Michael Littlewood.

So, John Horner of the Financial Markets Authority thinks that KiwiSaver’s reaching $100 bn “…is something to celebrate; for a relatively small country like New Zealand, it represents a coming of age of KiwiSaver.” (FMA 24 September 2024 here). Others in the financial services industry praise KiwiSaver while some call for higher minimum contributions or even for it to be made compulsory. So, is $100 bn saved through KiwiSaver that big a deal?

Richard Meade: What ‘Jack and Jill’ can teach us about the (un)fairness of capital gains taxes

In New Zealand, capital gains tax debates spring up like zombies. Each time they get killed off, back to life they come.

New Zealand already has some types of capital gains taxes – such as the bright-line test (which taxes residential land bought and sold within two years) and taxes on other various activities. So the debate is more about expanding taxes on capital gains, rather than introducing a new tax.

Professor Robert MacCulloch: The Financial Markets Authority Board & CEO Should be Fired

The Financial Markets Authority Board & CEO Should be Fired for Defending the Billion $ Fees of Kiwi Saver Fund Managers-when the FMA's Job is the Opposite

From 2019-23 KiwiSaver Fund Managers took $3.1 billion in fees from the accounts of savers. The new Coalition swore its primary job was to reduce the cost-of-living that is blighting so many lives. So what is it waiting for?

Francesca Rudkin: Are we as savvy as we should be with KiwiSaver?

How proactive are you with your KiwiSaver?

Do you call your provider to have a conversation about whether you're in the right fund for you at that moment in time? Do you get independent advice as to whether you're in the right fund? Do you have a number, the amount you would like to have to live your life on in retirement? Do you keep your eye on your fund and how your savings are progressing?

Or have you, like me, signed up, made the contribution, thought good on me, I'm saving for my retirement! Then put your head in the sand and got on with life.

Brian Gaynor: NZ pension funds lagging behind Aussie

One of the most important decisions with any savings plan, particularly KiwiSaver and other superannuation schemes, is asset allocation. Asset allocation is the outcome of a process that aims to balance the risk and rewards of a portfolio after considering an individual’s goals, risk tolerance and investment horizon.

There are two main asset classes in the asset allocation process; high risk growth assets, mainly shares, and low risk income assets, comprising bonds and cash. The asset allocation decision has a huge impact on the risk profile and performance of a portfolio.

Frank Newman: Credit scores and simplicity

How good is your credit score? Checking is simple, and free. All you need is some details from a driver’s licence (or passport) and a click on the website creditsimple.co.nz. It literally takes less than a couple of minutes.

A credit score is a number between 0 and 1,000 that indicates how credit-worthy you are, and how likely you are to pay your bills on time. Most credit scores are between 300 and 850. The higher the score, the better your credit rating is. A good score is more than 500.

Brian Gaynor: KiwiSaver investment issues blown out of scale

Recent media reports could give the impression that KiwiSaver has major problems, particularly fee gouging and illegal investment strategies.

KiwiSaver should be subject to media scrutiny but most of the recent commentary has been sensationalist and misguided.

Brian Gaynor: How KiwiSavers react to a market downturn

There have been a large number of letters in the media over recent weeks from concerned KiwiSaver investors. These investors are worried about the downturn in the world’s equity markets and the impact this will have on their portfolios.

Comments include; “we are a bit concerned we’ve bitten off more risk than we can chew”, “we have some concern about our KiwiSaver accounts”, “why would I not change to a lower-risk fund now, before the market truly takes a beating?” and we want “the flexibility to move into cash quickly when the market takes a dive”.

Frank Newman: Perils of being a landlord

The term Land-lord has an aristocrat resonance about it. The reality is there is nothing easy about being a landlord. For most it’s a rude awakening into aspects of human behaviour that most prefer not to associate with. 

The NZ Herald (Diana Clement, 3 May) ran an interesting article recently about the perils of being a landlord. Here are some key points.

Mike Butler: Deficit reveals cost of bad govt

Fed up with Finance Minister Bill English’s “death by 1000 cuts” Budgets, and disgusted with the whole range of commentators who believe in either big or bigger government, I went to Treasury’s Budget appropriations to see by how much I could reduce the deficit. This is what I have found.

In his Budget speech, English blamed a recession that started in 2008, the global financial crisis, and the Canterbury earthquake for the difficulties he faces as finance minister. I suggest the real culprit is the long shadow of barmy policy of successive governments, including his government.