NZ Funds welcomes regulations to the party

“We are thrilled that from next year all KiwiSaver providers will be required to join NZ Funds in projecting member balances at retirement”, says Geoff Motion. NZ Funds first included retirement savings projections in 2018.

Friday, June 7th 2019, 11:48AM

Geoff Motion

“When we entered the KiwiSaver market in 2011, we drew on our then twenty-year heritage of managing New Zealanders wealth to shape the service we offered. We initially called it a service, because we have learned the hard way that sharp products rarely deliver clients what they hope”, says Motion.

Motion points to the fact that NZ Funds KiwiSaver Scheme member balances are now 1.5x the national average.* “To the best of our ability, as it’s a difficult thing to attribute properly, we do not think this isbecause our clients are wealthier. Neither is it due to returns, while clients have earned above average returns after fees by our assessment, that has made very little difference.

The biggest factor says Motion is that as 96% of NZ Funds KiwiSaver Scheme members are working with a financial adviser, they have been encouraged to save at higher than minimal rates and feel connected to their KiwiSaver.

The concept of projecting retirement savings several years ago is a dumbed down version of what every client who joins the NZ Funds KiwiSaver Scheme receives in financial planning technology. “Interestingly, when we first provided statements with retirement savings projections to members it was well received, as it reminded them why they should continue contributing, and in fact consider raising their contribution rates, so we think the new regulations will be good for everyone in the industry”.

NZ Funds has, what it believes is market-leading technology here, enabling its members to increase their contribution rates in a paperless, purely digital, way.

* NZ Funds KiwiSaver Scheme average member balance $29,791 KiwiSaver industry average member balance $19,246. Source: Workplace Savings New Zealand 31 March 2019.

Tags: KiwiSaver