Q&As: Reader better off holding on to Auckland house while moving elsewhere to care for mother; How to maximise the KiwiSaver tax credit — before June 30; Should non-employee KiwiSaver contribute more than $1043 a year, or put further savings elsewhere?; Four readers offer alternatives to “Mum and Dad investors”, but none of their ideas is great; This column pleads “Not guilty” of sexism.
Too good to be true — but it is true. It sounds like a too good to be true scheme that’s bound to end in tears: “Earn 36 to 56 per cent a year on a low-risk investment!” But there is such an investment, and it’s called KiwiSaver.
Q&As: A way for couples on higher incomes to get KiwiSaver first home help; Man with terminal illness can probably withdraw all KiwiSaver money; KiwiSaver contributions holidays more flexible than reader realises; More thoughts on why house prices have outgrown rents; 2 readers challenge the use of the term “Mum and Dad investors” — and we seek an alternative.
Plans or no plans?: Readers differ. If you’ve wondered who that bloke is hanging around stores in the weekend watching people buy 3D television sets, it could be Blair Vernon.
Q&As: 3 Q&As on the KiwiSaver help for first home buyers — why it’s so good, but also why some people aren’t eligible; A possible explanation for house prices outgrowing incomes.
Q&As: People in their early sixties are mad if they are not in KiwiSaver; One reader says it’s too hard to buy a first home in Auckland, but two others have suggestions on how to do it; The cost of building hasn’t risen since the 1970s, but shortage of land has pushed up prices, says a reader. Plus: Follow-up on last week’s comment about a job vacancy in Wanganui.
Confession time about retirement plans and goals. I’m going to commit sacrilege here. But it’s not as if I haven’t thought long and hard about it. So okay, deep breath, here we go: Contrary to what many will tell you, it’s quite possible to be financially together and not have a detailed written plan on how to fund your retirement — or even a retirement savings goal.
Q&As: Three Q&As on options for would-be first home buyers struggling to afford a home — go cheaper, and go further away. (Bonus: a job opening in Wanganui); An angry reader misunderstands where I’m coming from; Two Q&As ponder how building costs and land development costs affect house prices; Further explanation about how PIRs work.
Q&As: Why house prices must — at some point — come down further; Newly retired person loses out, for a year, on PIE tax; How a rising NZ Super age might affect KiwiSaver; Temporary workers in KiwiSaver at a disadvantage.