Sack the inaccurate journalists. A reader reports that she and her family “were quite astounded to find you recommend (KiwiSaver) so unreservedly.” “I’ve read several articles recently by other journalists, who have pointed out that one’s savings could well be handled — in the interim before one retires — so poorly that there could be none left to collect on retirement.
Q&As: Are the 65-pluses getting a raw deal?; One reader thinks richer superannuitants are already spoilt; Self-employed reader doesn’t realise what a good deal he’s on to; KiwiSaver options for small business couple.
Q&As: How the KiwiSaver tax credit is calculated, and details for self-employed people; KiwiSaver and taxation, plus more for the self-employed. Plus: 30 talented readers will win copies of KiwiSaver book.
No tricks behind KiwiSaver doubling of money. A reader has “one or two problems” with my last column, in which I said people are silly not to sign up to KiwiSaver. “Your comments that ‘twice as much comes out at retirement’ and ‘triple the money in, triple the money out’… make one huge assumption — that the provider the investor chooses over time does not lose any money — a highly unlikely scenario surely!”, says the reader.
Q&As: What happens to KiwiSaver accounts in a divorce?; How KiwiSaver might affect NZ Super, and what you should do about it; A source of basic KiwiSaver information; The NZ share market index that includes dividends has been misleading in the past. How much does it matter?
Q&As: Three Q&As about KiwiSaver: Reimbursement of employer contributions; is daughter overseas eligible?; When is mortgage diversion helpful?; Where can you get the information that was in the three Herald supplements about KiwiSaver? …And: Rental property running costs mount up over the years.
KiwiSaver: Be in to win. Ever since the government announced its added incentives to KiwiSaver last month, everyone is talking about the retirement savings scheme. And well they might. While I still have reservations about the distortion of savings decisions, and while many employers are angry at being forced to contribute, practically all individuals will be better in than out.
Q&As: Nearly 65-year-old should grab chance to join KiwiSaver. People over 60 do particularly well out of it; Why dividends should be included when we look at the performance of the NZ share market.
Q&As: A big fan of property investing scares me with his lack of knowledge; I’m accused of hypocrisy and bias; In praise of boring old index funds and learning about them. Plus: KiwiSaver: Will the kick-start be around for a while? What happens when an employee gets a lump sum? A clarification about access to the money in bankruptcy.
Back to the creepy stuff. Well, he did it. Despite my impassioned plea in this column in February last year, Finance Minister Michael Cullen took away our chewing gum tax cut in the recent Budget. And we’re much bigger losers than most people realise.