NZ Herald 21 June 2014

AWhere does the $100,000 a year come from? That’s way above the average income for everyone, and people tend to need considerably less income in retirement.

Usually retirees don’t spend as much as younger people on dependants, they’ve paid off their mortgage, and — a big difference — they’re no longer saving. Also, they spend less or nothing on work clothes, commuting, bought lunches, dry cleaning, and loss of income and life insurance. And as people get into their seventies and eighties, they tend to go out less.

Health insurance costs rise a lot, and perhaps other spending on health, but for most people these are easily offset by the drop in other expenses.

Many retired people living on just NZ Super or not much more say that they manage financially — especially if they have a mortgage-free home. I expect that most people will find KiwiSaver plus NZ Super provides enough.

Your comment about using KiwiSaver to control interest rates isn’t quite right. Labour says it proposes “to adjust KiwiSaver contribution rates, rather than interest rates, as a means of controlling inflation”. The target is inflation, not interest rates.

I appreciate that, if this means interest rates are raised less, that would hurt many retirees. But if the tool does help to keep inflation in check, that’s good for retirees, who tend to be hit hardest by high inflation. So it might be a mixed bag for you.

On Q&As about KiwiSaver, I acknowledge there’ve been too many lately. Letters often generate other letters on the same topic, and it’s good to explore the topic — KiwiSaver or otherwise — from several angles.

Because I’ve had complaints like yours before, I’ve kept a tally. So far this year, 38 per cent of the Q&As — including yours — have been about KiwiSaver. But that’s unusual. In 2011 it was 25 per cent, in 2012 it was 28 per cent, and last year it was 20 per cent.

Given that about half the population — and I’m sure more than half the readers of this column — are in KiwiSaver, those percentages are probably too low. Certainly I publish a smaller proportion of all the letters I get about KiwiSaver than about other topics.

There’s another point here, too. A lot of KiwiSaver Q&As cover broader issues that we can, indeed, all share — such as repaying debt versus saving, how to decide how much risk to take, and how to manage any type of retirement savings.

Still, I don’t like to have you “Bah-ing”! Will try to veer in another direction shortly.

AMaybe. Under the KiwiSaver Act, there must be an agreement between the employer and employees — made after 13 December 2007 — that allows this approach, sometimes called total remuneration.

The agreement needs to be negotiated in good faith and accepted by employees. Usually this will occur when pay increases are being offered.

It’s not clear whether your employer has toed the line. Perhaps show this Q&A to them and discuss it.

The rationale behind letting employers do this is that they can treat KiwiSaver employees the same as non-KiwiSaver employees. Those doing the same work receive the same total pay, regardless of whether some of the money goes into KiwiSaver.

While this approach was allowed when KiwiSaver started in July 2007, the following year the Labour-led government disallowed it. However, after the election that year, the National-led government permitted it again.

What might happen next? Read on.

AYou wrote before Labour announced its KiwiSaver policy this past week. Key elements are:

• From October 2015, KiwiSaver would be made compulsory for all employees 18 to 65 except those on very low pay. Students, beneficiaries and the self-employed would also be exempt.
• For people compulsorily enrolled, employee contributions would start at 1 per cent, rising gradually to 4.5 per cent by April 2021.
• For employees already in KiwiSaver, minimum employee contributions would rise from 3 to 3.25 per cent in April 2016, and then gradually to 4.5 per cent by April 2021.
• Employer contributions for both groups would also rise from 3 to 4.5 per cent over the same period.
• From 2021, the Reserve Bank could use the new tool referred to in the first Q&A, called the Variable Savings Rate. It’s possible but unlikely it would be used earlier than that.
• The $1000 kick-start, maximum $521 annual tax credit, hardship withdrawals, and first home withdrawal and subsidy would all remain — although the kick-start would be paid over five years for those compulsorily enrolled.

For you, this would mean that the maximum employee plus employer contributions would rise from 6 to 9 per cent by 2021 — not 18 per cent — unless the Variable Savings Rate was used earlier. After 2021, though, it could go higher, depending on how the tool is developed.

But take heart. Asked if Labour might again outlaw applying total remuneration to KiwiSaver, finance spokesperson David Parker said, “Yes, although once everyone is in KiwiSaver the ability to discriminate against employees who are in KiwiSaver is largely overcome.”

In other words, because employers would be paying KiwiSaver contributions for all employees, they might remove KiwiSaver from their total remuneration packages and pay the contributions directly. They would perhaps do this in lieu of a pay rise.

You also asked about other proposed KiwiSaver changes. As I said last week, the current government plans to automatically enroll all employees, giving them the right to opt out. This would probably take place in 2015–16 if the fiscal surplus is as big as expected.

What else? A summary of political parties’ KiwiSaver policies put together by the Retirement Policy and Research Centre says New Zealand First, the Maori Party and United Future all favour compulsory KiwiSaver. The Greens prefer automatic enrollment and opt out — like National. They also favour creating a public KiwiSaver fund with lower fees than current providers.

AThanks for your suggestions. One of them is excellent — to seek help from Family Budgeting Services. Their advice is free, and you’re right, they can often arrange for a client to repay their debts in a workable way. This alone can justify using the service. For more information, see www.familybudgeting.org.nz.

On applying to WINZ, the couple can certainly inquire, although they might not necessarily be eligible for a benefit.

I’m not so keen on the lawyer idea, though. For one thing, lawyers usually cost plenty, and the couple hasn’t got plenty.

Also, most lawyers are not experts on bankruptcy, let alone budgeting. I worry that many lawyers seem willing to give advice on all sorts of financial issues — including investing — when they know little. Never be shy to ask a lawyer if they have expertise in the area before consulting them.

On the other hand, many advisers at Family Budgeting Services are trained to help clients work out whether insolvency — which includes bankruptcy but also some less drastic options — would be appropriate for them, says Raewyn Fox, chief executive of the NZ Federation of Family Budgeting Services.

For anyone considering bankruptcy or similar, ask for someone with that knowledge when you make an appointment with an adviser, says Fox.

On credit cards, you might be right. But the couple may be able to learn how to use cards wisely, as a convenience rather than a source of money. People can change.