June 2026
15Jun

New Zealand. Pensioners facing $100 a week rent rise

Pensioners could face rent hikes of almost $100 per week under an Ashburton District Council proposal. The council currently charges 55% of the market rate for some of its 102 elderly persons housing units, but is looking at increasing it to an 80% minimum. This would mean rent increases from $4 to $96, depending on whether the residents could access Government accommodation support. The elderly person housing units are situated in six complexes spread throughout Ashburton, Methven, and Rakaia in Canterbury. In 2021,...

June 15, 2026
News, ,
Read more...

March 2025
25Mar

Cost of living support coming for 1.5 million New Zealanders

More than 900 thousand superannuitants and almost five thousand veterans are among the New Zealanders set to receive a significant financial boost from next week, an uplift Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says will help support them through cost-of-living challenges. “I am pleased to confirm that from 1 April, most MSD payment rates will increase through the Annual General Adjustment (AGA),” Louise Upston says. “Overall this year’s AGA means around 1.5 million New Zealanders will get an increase to...

March 25, 2025
News, Slider,
Read more...

February 2024
19Feb

New Zealand. Lowest population growth in 80 years

There were 19,071 more births than deaths in 2023, according to data released by Stats NZ today. This is the lowest annual natural increase since 1943, when there were 17,562 more births than deaths. There were 56,955 live births and 37,884 deaths registered in New Zealand in 2023. “2023 had the lowest number of births registered in 20 years,” population insights analyst Rebekah Hennessey said. “The number of deaths in 2023 was slightly lower than in 2022, but higher than in the years...

February 19, 2024
News, ,
Read more...

August 2021
24Aug

New Zealand. Super-sharers: How small contributions can push back against inequality

Creating a truly fair New Zealand will require transformational change. Until we get there, one charity is encouraging superannuitants to give whatever they can. New Zealand’s generational divide is well-documented. Over-65s, who benefitted from free education and affordable housing, now receive pensions that are not income or asset-tested. Younger generations rack up debt to gain tertiary education and face unaffordable housing prices, and those in need receive insufficient income and accommodation support. For much of the older generation, the NZ Super...

August 24, 2021
News, Slider, ,
Read more...

June 2021
08Jun

New Zealand Pension Fund Allocates 5% to Bitcoin

Fernando Alberca | bottom KiwiSaver Growth Strategy, which manages $350 million retirement plans, has allocated 5% of its portfolio to bitcoin, as reported by New Zealand’s Stuff News Agency. The pension fund started investing in crypto assets in October 2020, so This first purchase has already increased to 600% in just six months. In the opinion of James Gregor, chief investment officer at New Zealand Funds Management, operator of the KiwiSaver Growth Strategy Fund, “If investing in gold sounds right...

June 8, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...

May 2021
20May

Retirement Planning Not A Priority For New Zealanders

While it’s a dream for many to be able to retire and have plenty of savings in the bank, that’s not the reality for many Kiwis. While the government does offer a pension, it’s not a lot of money, so if we want to be able to maintain the lifestyle we had while working, a large amount of savings is required. However, many Kiwis are leaving it too late to save up enough to make them comfortable in their later...

May 20, 2021
News, Slider, ,
Read more...

March 2021
31Mar

New Zealand. How KiwiSaver could be used to supercharge innovation

KiwiSaver has grown tremendously since it launched in 2007, but it is pretty vanilla. Most investments are lazily thrown into listed stocks and bonds – the scheme is designed that way. We could be using some of this money to invest in such alternatives as startups, scaling successful businesses to go international, and infrastructure that we need, as is done routinely internationally. KiwiSaver is big enough and old enough to ask how we can unleash the power of capital towards the...

March 31, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
26Mar

New Zealand. Investment or speculation: KiwiSaver fund enters the bitcoin era

NZ Funds Management’s KiwiSaver growth fund has invested in bitcoin, and chief investment officer James Grigor​ expects that within five years it will feature in more KiwiSaver schemes. Read also Cryptocurrency called next great investing opportunity The KiwiSaver provider changed its offer documents in October to allow it to invest in cryptocurrencies for the first time. Grigor said bitcoin had become a commodity, with many of the attractive hallmarks of gold, which investors often bought as a store of value in times...

March 26, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...

January 2021

11Jan

New Zealand. Private superannuation savings schemes ‘underperforming’

People in old-style workplace superannuation savings schemes are often getting lower returns from their investments than they would in KiwiSaver schemes, and it’s prompting some to call for change. Old-style workplace super savings schemes are increasingly revealing to savers how they are tracking compared to KiwiSaver funds, and it’s not flattering their performance. Schemes publish charts showing their funds’ performance compared to the median, or average, KiwiSaver fund in each fund category. There is big money tied up in...

January 11, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...

October 2020

14Oct

Does NZ spend less on pensions than most wealthy countries?

AAP FactCheck Investigation: Does superannuation cost New Zealand 4.4 per cent of GDP each year – and is this low by international standards? THE STATEMENT “The reality is we are way below the international cost of superannuation, we are about 4.4 per cent of GDP.” Winston Peters, New Zealand First leader and deputy prime minister, October 8, 2020. THE ANALYSIS New Zealand First leader and deputy prime minister Winston Peters has defended the cost of New Zealand’s superannuation scheme,...

October 14, 2020
News, Slider, ,
Read more...