Plan for your future
Plan for your future
It’s important that you understand the basics so you can make wise choices about where you invest your money and how you can protect your financial wellbeing.
1. Invest in your future
If you’re not already investing for your future, or haven’t reviewed your retirement savings lately, now’s the perfect time to start – because the financial decisions you make today can make a big difference to your retirement lifestyle.
KiwiSaver
KiwiSaver can be a great way to save for your retirement, and it has additional benefits to help boost your nest egg even further. It can also help you buy your first home!
Here’s how it works
- If you’re employed, contributions generally come directly from your after-tax pay to your KiwiSaver account. You can choose to contribute 3%, 4%, 6%, 8% or 10% of your before-tax pay.
- If you’re contributing from your pay and are eligible, your employer generally has to contribute at least 3% of your before-tax pay as well.
- You can make voluntary contributions at any time.
- If you’re eligible, you may receive Government contributions (of up to $521.43 per year).
- You can usually begin withdrawing your savings when you turn 65 although you may be able to withdraw some or all of your savings early, for example to buy your first home.
KiwiSaver providers offer a range of funds, each with different levels of risk and expected return. Your fund choice can make a big difference to your retirement savings, so it’s important to make sure you’re invested in the fund that’s right for you.
The right fund for you depends on your situation. For example, those who have a long time until retirement may benefit from a growth fund because it aims to deliver higher returns over the long term – and the inevitable ups and downs should balance themselves out over that period. However, those who are closer to retirement or are planning to use their KiwiSaver savings to help buy their first home in the near future may benefit from investing in a more conservative fund because it gives them greater certainty about how much they’ll have when they need to withdraw.
Check our Risk Profile Questionnaire if you need help understanding your tolerance for investment risk and what fund might be right for you.
Are you on track to having the retirement lifestyle you want?
Our easy to use calculator can help you work out whether you’re on track to achieve your retirement savings goals.
Other ways to invest
There are other investment options available, for example term deposits, shares and managed funds to name a few. The best investment option for you depends on your individual situation, your timeframes and financial goals. You should also consider what fees and tax apply when choosing an investment option. So taking the time to understand exactly what you’re investing in is really important.
Term deposits
With a term deposit, you get to choose how long you want to invest for and enjoy the certainty from knowing exactly what your return will be. Your investment is locked in until the end of your term to help protect you from changes in interest rates.
Shares
Shares are a small unit of ownership in a company. You can buy and sell shares directly on the stock exchange, for example the NZX (New Zealand Exchange), or through a managed fund. You can make money with shares through capital gains – this is when you sell your shares for a higher price than you paid, and/or from earning income called dividends – where you are paid a portion of the company’s profit.
Managed funds
When you invest in managed funds (also called investment funds), your money is put together with other investors’ money and invested in a range of assets including shares, bonds and listed property across local and international markets, depending on the fund you choose. This means you get the benefit of diversification. Just like KiwiSaver, you choose which fund to invest in depending on your investment goals, timeframe and risk appetite, but unlike KiwiSaver your savings are not locked in until you’re 65.
Need help?
If you need help choosing the right investment option for you, or putting together a plan to achieve your financial goals, we recommend you talk to a financial adviser. They can provide advice tailored to your individual situation.
2. How to understand your risk profile
If you’re invested, or considering investing in KiwiSaver or an investment fund, it’s important to remember that the value of your investment can go up and down, and some investments have greater risk than others. These fluctuations are a normal part of investing. The key is to choose a fund that fits your appetite for risk.
If you’re seeking higher long-term returns, you need to be willing to accept more risk. Higher risk funds are those that invest mostly in growth assets like shares and property. On the other hand, if you’re seeking lower risk, you need to be willing to accept potential lower returns. Lower risk funds are those that invest mostly in income assets like fixed interest and cash.
Risk-return profile over the long term
The graph is not to scale and is for illustrative purposes only. Risk and returns of the different types of assets can vary over different stages of the market cycle.
To know which fund is right for you, you need to take into account your investment goals and timeframe, and know how much risk you’re willing to take. Use our Risk Profile Questionnaire to understand your tolerance for investment risk.
3. How to protect your financial wellbeing
When it comes to maintaining you or your family’s financial freedom, protecting your income, your life and your assets is important. Insurance can help you reduce financial impact should the unexpected happen, and support you and your family in times of need.
When considering your insurance options, we recommend that you:
- Get expert advice from a qualified person or financial services organisation. Such advice is usually free or any fee would be disclosed upfront.
- Check your existing financial products to see if you’re already covered and whether you have the right kind of cover and amount for your needs. For example:
- Some workplace schemes automatically provide health, income protection, life and disability insurance
- Review your house insurance to make sure it still works for you. If you have selected a sum insured amount check it is enough to rebuild your home to the same size and standard.
- Use our contents insurance calculator to see if you have the right amount of contents cover.
- Investigate all your options for protecting your financial security – including vehicle, house and contents cover as well as health, income protection and life insurance.
- Shop around and compare to give you comfort you’re making the right choice. Make sure you understand the cover by reading the policy wording, so you know exactly what you’re covered for and more importantly what you’re not.
- Make a will if you don’t already have one – or make sure it’s up to date if you do. Having a valid will is the only way to make sure that your assets are distributed the way you want them to be. To make it easier for your family, keep a record of all insurances with your will. On your passing it helps if they know what policies are in place to claim on.
4. Time to call in the professionals?
Feel like you’ve gone as far as you can to improve your finances on your own?
A financial adviser can provide advice tailored to your situation and create a plan to help you achieve your financial goals.
You can access free personalised investment advice from an ANZ Investment Adviser, or check out the Financial Markets Authority’s tips on how to find one.
Your future thanks you!
You’ve completed the last step in the ANZ Financial Wellbeing Programme. We'll be right here for you anytime you need a refresher.
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Important information
This material is for information purposes only. We recommend seeking financial advice about your situation and goals before getting a financial product. To talk to one of our team at ANZ, please call 0800 269 238, or for more information about ANZ’s financial advice service or to view our financial advice provider disclosure statement see anz.co.nz/fapdisclosure