Are KiwiSaver default members getting a bad deal?
Plus: How does everyone know how well their KiwiSaver fund is doing?
– Big variation in default fund performance and fees
– A possible solution
– Problems with benchmarks for all KiwiSaver funds
– A possible solution
– Based on a paper you can read at tinyurl.com/RussellKiwiSaver
Q&As:
– You don’t need to own a home to do well financially
– Get rid of Aussie shares says widower
– Reconsider insurance needs as your situation changes
– When switching KiwiSaver providers works best
Q&As:
– Share funds tend to perform better than DIY share investments
– Reader, 64, should keep working if that’s what it takes to keep her home
– A simple way to explain laddering term deposits to the bank
A non-financial topic: What it was like during and after Cyclone Gabrielle if you had:
– No power
– No running water
– No communications — phones, emails, texts, internet etc
– No way out of your community
Q&As:
– Many ways to boost retirement savings in 10 years…
– … Also be in KiwiSaver, and consider reverse mortgage
– KiwiSaver government contribution when overseas
– No thank you to this unbelievable offer
– Bank changes coming soon — and one that’s not
Q&As:
– One reader may be overdoing diversification…
– … While another may be underdoing it
– KiwiSaver fund reports 70% return
– Banks soon moving to 365-day money transfers
– Media should have warned of house price fall, says reader
– Rosie Robot misbehaves again
Spending that makes you happy
Research tends to find the following spending brings the most happiness:
– Getting rid of money worries — paying off debt, getting insurance etc
– Experiences — events, travel ….
– Changes that give you more time — hiring others to do tasks etc
– Beautiful things — art, plants etc
– Spending on others — charity, shouting a friend, gifts
Q&As:
– How solo mother can survive mortgage rate rise
– Check out all of a bank’s offerings
– Okay to raise your risk in falling market — and it’s not falling anyway
– KiwiSaver fund not doing as badly as reader thinks
– Help offered from a robot…
– … But it’s too late!
Q&As:
– KiwiSaver gifts good, but make sure you treat the children equally
– I made a worrying assumption in last week’s calculations…
– … and what happens when inflation is included
– Trapped with low interest on your term deposits? Here’s a plan
– Another reader has trouble getting a credit card
– A warning about selling a home before you buy
– Reader could move to another environmental fund
– My key messages don’t change
Plus:
– Happy holidays!
Q&As:
– Is now a good time to trade up to a bigger house?
– How much will $1,000 grow in KiwiSaver over time?
– An update on the active v passive debate
– More KiwiSaver providers let over 65s withdraw from just one of their funds