KiwiSaver

There’s a suggestion New Zealand KiwiSaver schemes could face a fee crackdown similar to that being suggested in Australia.

Australia Financial System Inquiry chair David Murray has set a deadline of 2020 for the MySuper default super regime to produce results, and says if it doesn’t, it should be replaced.

Among the inquiry’s 44 formal suggestions are potential shake-ups to the default fund selection process. Murray said the Government should see the impact of MySuper on fees.

“We have recommended that MySuper be replaced with a competitive mechanism for allocating default members to the best funds if MySuper has failed to deliver significant fee reductions by 2020,” Murray said.

“This represents a challenge to the superannuation industry because we still believe that 120 basis points of average fees is too high and limits the accumulation over time.”

David Boyle, of the Commission for Financial Capability, said there was a way to go before New Zealand’s super saving industry encountered that level of intensity of scrutiny.

“However it may come a lot sooner that it has taken in Australia if things don’t change.  Remember they have had nearly 25 years of compulsion – not withstanding a significant amount of regulatory change for that matter – and with average balances far larger than say our KiwiSaver ones, the impact of fees are very material in real dollar terms.”

In New Zealand, the average annual fee for default providers on a balance of $7000 is $69.

He said it should be expected that with market competition, increasing average balances, greater transparency around disclosure and fees, and their impact on total returns, investors would be driven to seek the best overall solutions in the market.

Allan Rickerby, who deals in super saving on both sides of the Tasman dismissed the recommendations as “noise”. “It’s such a political hot potato bouncing around. I see this as noise and chatter. The fees for most MySuper products are well under 120bps.”

Women are feeling less confident about reaching their retirement savings goals, according to ANZ’s latest retirement savings survey.

Overall, 44% of Kiwis feel confident that they are saving enough to pay for their retirement, but women are much less confident than men.

The survey of close to 700 people, conducted in October, found 34% of women felt very confident or confident of saving enough for their retirement. By contrast, 55% of men were very confident or confident.

ANZ Wealth General Manager Product and Marketing Ana Marie Lockyer said around two-thirds of people overall were confident of reaching their retirement savings goals.

“It is not surprising that some women are less confident about their retirement savings than men – they have every reason to be concerned. Women are paid less than men, while 85% of New Zealand women take time out from the workforce to raise families. Further, women tend to retire two years earlier than men and live longer. So, it is harder for women to save as much and their money has to potentially last them longer. That’s the reality for many women.”

She said women were, on average, retiring with less money than men. 

“The average KiwiSaver balance for women aged 25-40 is 23% lower than men of the same age and this is expected to widen by the time they are 65.”

She said it was important for people to look at what they needed for a comfortable retirement and whether they were on track to save enough.

“Taking a career break can create quite a hole in your retirement savings plans but there are a number of things you can do to catch up,” she said. “For example. you can increase your regular contributions, make a lump sum payment or consider moving your money to a higher growth KiwiSaver fund – it all depends on your personal circumstances.”

Lockyer advised anyone feeling uncertain about their retirement savings plans to talk to their KiwiSaver provider and get some professional financial advice: “It’s much better to get some advice and take the necessary steps than it is to turn around at age 65 and find out you haven’t got a hope of reaching your goals.”

A Bill that will allow KiwiSaver members to withdraw their Government tax credits as well as their and their employers’ contributions has had its first reading in parliament.

The Taxation (KiwiSaver HomeStart and Remedial Matters) Bill also doubles the subsidy available for first-home buyers if they are purchasing a new home, from $5000 to $10,000.

It increases the house price caps to $550,000, $450,000 and $350,000 for Welcome Home Loans and the KiwiSaver HomeStart Grant subsidy.

Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith said it would enable tens of thousands more young New Zealanders to get a deposit together for a first home.

Revenue Minister Todd McClay said the biggest change was the move to allow savers to withdraw the Government’s member tax credit as well as their contributions.

“This change will increase the maximum withdrawal amount by $521 each year for every year a member has been contributing to KiwiSaver and allows members to withdraw all of their KiwiSaver savings with the exception of the $1000 kickstart,” he said.

Smith said: “This total package will help about 90,000 lower and middle-income first-home buyers over the next five years. We are roughly doubling the number of people receiving a Government grant to buy a first home from 10,000 per year to 20,000 per year. We are also doubling the Government grant buyers are eligible for if they are buying a newly-built home, with the focus of the package to increase the supply of new housing and to encourage housing companies to build homes in a price range affordable for first-home buyers. These changes double the Government’s support for first-home buyers from $217 million to $435 million over the next five years.”

KiwiSaver members who are engaged with their retirement savings are better placed to take action throughout their lives to reach their goals, ANZ’s general manager of wealth products and marketing, Ana-Marie Lockyer, says.

The bank released a survey yesterday showing that half of KiwiSaver members had not checked that their savings were on track to meet their retirement goals.

ANZ launched a new online calculator, which takes some personal information and works out the projected amount someone would have when they retire, the amount they will need and whether they are headed for a gap in their savings. The online tool then proposes and calculates the effect of steps people can take to close that gap, such as making a lump sum contribution, upping their regular contributions or moving their money to a different type of KiwiSaver fund.

The ANZ survey of KiwiSaver members last month found that 63% of members had checked their KiwiSaver balance in the past month, and a further 26% had checked their balance in the last year.

However, 46% of members had never checked to see whether their KiwiSaver was on track to meet their retirement goals, with a further 3% checking five years ago. Despite this, 71% of members believed they should check every year to ensure their KiwiSaver investment was on track.
“Research tells us that people who know their KiwiSaver balance are more confident of reaching their retirement savings goals than those people who do not know how much they have saved,” head of wealth John Body said. “It’s great to see more KiwiSaver members are checking their balances regularly. In recent times, we have put a lot of energy into making it easier for people to track their KiwiSaver which they can now do through their ANZ internet banking or our go Money app.”

Body said that people should check they are on track once a year and whenever there was a change in their financial circumstances – for example, starting a new job or buying a house: “It’s all part of taking control of your life and your investments.”

Lockyer acknowledged there was a school of thought that people should not check their balances regularly because KiwiSaver is a long-term strategy. She said while people should not be chopping and changing their strategy regularly, it was worth checking in from time to time.

International research had shown that when people could see their contributions being made regularly, they felt good about their savings, she said. “We do want people to engage with their retirement savings and taken the right action at various points in life.”

If people were taking action too regularly on their accounts, the bank would encourage them to get advice, she said.