Subscribers weigh in on Kiwisaver hardship
The amount of money being withdrawn from Kiwisaver schemes for hardship reasons has nearly doubled in a year as more middleand higher-wage earners find their “household income isn’t sufficient to live on”.
Middle to higher income level struggling? Living beyond their means perhaps, more to the point? Got too big a loan, too much on credit, or upgraded the car multiple times, and too much stuff, such as the latest mobile phones and sound systems? Time to tighten the belt, maybe?
John W
I’m an accountant . . . yet despair at how my low-risk Kiwisaver accounts have lost money over the last year. Markets fell, as did my Kiwisaver. Understandable. But markets have now recovered, and with interest rates rising (favourable for low-risk funds), my fund continues to go south.
Clearly the managers are idiots. I say to anyone that has a decent amount of cash in their fund(s), take it out and get into property, which is a buy market. Property might well fall further, but building costs will not fall, which underpins the cost of a build and therefore the market.
Glenn P
The research is VERY clear that the vast majority of fund managers cannot beat the market and offer ZERO value to their clients.
Welly G
You don’t “beat” markets. No fund
manager is trying to do that. They are investing in assets that will appreciate or give a return, which any term deposit will do, and many stocks, which also give dividends. They aren’t betting on red or black or trading a currency to speculate on its future value (although all non-nz investments have that risk). Which raises the question as to how, when surely a large amount of portfolio is in US and Euro stocks, and the NZ$ is 7 per cent lower against most currencies, the funds aren’t showing huge gains?
Glenn P
Someone introduce a Kiwisaver offset arrangement for your mortgage, so while you are repaying your home and saving for retirement, you don’t earn interest/grow, but you also don’t pay interest on the corresponding portion of your mortgage!
Diedre F
If you have got to 65 and “paid a lot of tax” then you’ll have earned sufficient income to have saved for your retirement. If you’ve blown it, it’s not really up to younger ratepayers to subsidise you. If Auckland has become too expensive for you, then consider moving to a cheaper area.
Too many people in this country simply bury their heads in the sand when it comes to retirement planning, and then blame everyone else.
Gavin L
Marriage and asset breakups, permanent disability from accidents, illness, etc. destroy the best plans of quite a few people, who did not have their heads buried.
Lyn M
Once interest rates rise over 5 per cent, anyone with a loan on their house should get their Kiwisaver funds out to pay down their debt asap.
If my Kiwisaver manager was antioil
or coal investing, I would kid them to touch.
I want best possible return on my money.
I don’t want woke managers using my money to push their agenda.
Peter B ■ Republished comments may be edited at the editor’s discretion.