The Investor 16 September 2008
Retirement payments likely to make a comeback. Annuities — which are typically monthly payments to retired people, over and above NZ Super — may be on their way back onto the New Zealand scene.
Retirement payments likely to make a comeback. Annuities — which are typically monthly payments to retired people, over and above NZ Super — may be on their way back onto the New Zealand scene.
Is saving always good? In some circles, saving has a bad name. People think it’s about deprivation — “I either save or I spend, and spending is more fun.”
KiwiSaver more flexible and generous than commonly thought. Two lesser known features of KiwiSaver make it more user friendly than many people realise. They could entice non-joiners into taking part in a scheme which — after all — they are helping to fund, as taxpayers.
Hope and help for first home buyers. Things are looking up for would-be first home buyers, left out in the cold in the recent house price boom. The numbers are finally getting better, and government assistance is increasing.
Take action now to get full KiwiSaver tax credit. June is the month of reckoning for KiwiSaver members who want to be sure they get as big a tax credit as possible from the government. But judging from reader emails and questions at seminars, there’s a fair bit of confusion about it all.
If the Government can do it… If there’s one topic that I should write about more often, but I avoid because I fear it will turn people off, it’s budgeting. But with the government’s Budget in the news, now is as good a time as any to consider the way we — as individuals or couples — spend our money. And I promise not to get preachy.
Safe haven for nervous investors. Spooked by the Blue Chip, Feltex and finance company collapses, a growing number of New Zealanders are joining the “flight to quality” by buying government bonds or their little brothers, Kiwi Bonds.
Ethical investing likely to catch on here. Ethical investing — which has been increasingly popular in other western countries — is likely to catch on in New Zealand now that KiwiSaver providers have to state in their investment documents whether they offer this option.
3 ways that KiwiSaver just got even better. This month is a big one for KiwiSaver, with several changes taking effect that make the scheme more attractive — including a little publicised tax break.