Category: Business

Source: Radio New Zealand

Property values continued to dip last year, but lower mortgage interest rates and signs of an economic recovery point to a possible change of direction for 2026.

Despite gains early in 2025, house values fell in seven of the past nine months, falling 1 percent nationwide according to property data firm Cotality NZ’s latest Home Value Index (HVI).

The median house price is now $808,430 – only a slight change from a year ago, but a drop of -17.6 percent from the 2022 peak, HVI figures showed.

Kelvin Davidson, Cotality chief property economist, said it had been a “year of conflicting forces”, with multiple factors pulling in different directions to leave values broadly flat.

Increased property listings and the weak economy offset lower mortgage rates, while increased housing stock further moderated values, he said.

Some areas reached new peaks, especially in provincial markets – Southland hit record median values in December, and places like New Plymouth and Queenstown saw increases, reflecting wider economic factors including strong farming returns, he said.

“Property in provincial towns and cities … has been more resilient. I wouldn’t say it’s booming, but it definitely hasn’t fallen as far as other parts of the country and it perhaps showed a bit of renewed growth.”

Auckland and Wellington ‘subdued’

Auckland and Wellington’s markets remained weak, with the decline from the heady highs of 2022 exceeding 20 percent.

“What goes up must come down. There were big booms in Auckland and Wellington – and elsewhere too, of course, but housing affordability did get pretty stretched in those markets.”

Prices fell by 0.2 percent nationally last month. Auckland remained sluggish (down 0.6 percent), as part of an overall drop of 2.6 percent for the year. Hamilton was down 0.7 percent (a 1.2 percent annual change), Wellington fell by 0.4 percent in December, a 2 percent annual drop.

Meanwhile, Christchurch recorded a modest 0.2 percent rise in December and an annual increase of 2.6 percent, while Tauranga, New Plymouth and Dunedin all increased by 0.5 percent in December (1 percent, 0 percent and -0.3 percent annual change respectively).

The supply of townhouses had dampened prices to an extent in Auckland, while the impact of large scale job losses in the public service resonated in Wellington, with the underlying economy “subdued” in both cities, he said.

“Wellington’s still got that public sector malaise going on. You walk around central Wellington and the mood’s perhaps a bit downbeat – reflecting public sector cutbacks, tight budgets – the central city is battling along.”

The median house price in Auckland was $1,047,044, followed closely by Tauranga on $935,174, Wellington’s median was $785,790, Hamilton’s $717,495, the median value in Christchurch was $683,360 and Dunedin’s $612,171.

Auckland remained “a key weak spot”, with each of its sub-markets underperforming the national average.

North Shore, where values had dropped 18.4 percent since 2022, was the only part of Tāmaki Makaurau where median values had fallen less than 20 percent since the peak.

Wellington’s sub-markets, such as Hutt Valley, Porirua and Kāpiti Coast, also took steep hits, dropping 23 percent or more from the 2022 peak.

Election year uncertainty around regulation – including loan-to-value and debt-to-income ratios – and talk of a capital gains tax could see prices remain muted, Davidson said.

Provincial prices prove punchier

Prices in the provinces and the southern reaches of the country were more resilient.

The Southland region’s three districts had seen median values peak in December – Southland was up by 0.5 percent to an average median house price of $597,000, Gore was up 0.6 percent to $448,432, and Invercargill increased 0.5 percent to $520,464.

Parts of Canterbury also edged to new records.

Davidson said there was not a dramatic split between property value performance in main centres versus the provinces, but “there’s no doubt that the general vibe is still stronger in say Invercargill or New Plymouth versus Auckland or Wellington”.

The proposed overhaul of the Resource Management Act could reinforce a shift in supply, with the townhouse construction pipeline ramping up in some areas, he said.

While there could be pockets of oversupply, mostly increased supply was reducing pre-existing shortfalls.

“It’s not caused us to go into oversupply, it’s really just reducing under-supply … we need more dwellings of all different types to cater for changing societal needs, smaller households and those sort of things.”

Further, intensification and increased supply in Auckland and Christchurch were helping to keep a lid on prices, he said.

Cautious optimism as cost of living stifles confidence

Davidson said the outlook for this year was cautiously optimistic – the report forecast a potential 5 percent rise in property values, as people refixed mortgages and the economy showed signs of recovery.

“You’re looking at 40 to 50 percent of mortgages going to see a rate change pretty shortly and it should be downwards – that cash will start to come through.

“On the other side, you have to acknowledge inflation. The rate of change of prices might have slowed down, but that doesn’t mean prices are falling or things are suddenly cheaper – it still costs a lot to live.

“It takes a little bit longer to feed through into growth in the overall economy, because people are battling to keep up with day-to-day necessities.”

Davidson was confident the economic recovery would eventuate, with the September quarter showing 1.1 percent GDP growth.

The “largest macro headwind” was the sluggish labour market.

A drop in unemployment would do the most to give people more confidence, as even those unaffected by redundancies were likely to be cautious about spending if those around them were losing their jobs.

“All in all, 2026 may well be a stronger year for the housing market than 2025 – despite the headwinds. It’s the year of rebuilding confidence,” Davidson said.

In 2024, prices dropped by 3.9 percent on the previous year.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Stuff-owned website Neighbourly – at the centre of a major cyber breach – has headed to court to try to stop the stolen information spreading.

The High Court at Auckland has confirmed it has received and accepted an application for an injunction.

The site was taken down for a time on New Year’s Day after the breach was found.

Information including names, email addresses, posts and messages has purportedly surfaced for sale on the dark web.

Cyber security experts say it is particularly concerning that GPS data from Neighbourly has also been taken. One said it could put lives at risk.

A court date has not yet been set.

It comes at the same time that the ManageMyHealth website was struck by a hacker attack that includes patient information.

The hackers, calling themselves “Kazu”, posted on Sunday morning that unless the company paid a ransom within 48 hours, they would leak more than 400,000 files in their possession.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Plans to open a Dunedin bottle store earlier in the day have been quashed after being told it would have been inappropriate in the student quarter.

Bottle O Cumberland applied to increase its off-licence hours to 9am until 10pm at night each day.

Currently, it opens at 10am and the closing times vary.

But the applicant, Brendan McCarthy, amended the application to close by 9pm at a district licensing committee hearing in November after being opposed by the University of Otago Proctor, police, a Ministry of Health delegate, the Chief Licensing Inspector, and a member of the public.

The committee decided to renew the licence, but retain the original opening time.

“The committee has considered the matters presented and does not consider it appropriate to extend the opening hours, given the location of the premises is in an area of high alcohol-related harm,” the committee said.

“The committee is satisfied that the premises is run safely and responsibly.”

The licence is due for renewal in 2028.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

If 2026 is the year you get your money life sorted, you may be wondering where to begin. In this five-part series, money correspondent Susan Edmunds guides you through the basics. First up: Setting a budget and putting goals in place.

Is getting your finances in order top of your New Year’s resolutions?

It’s been a tough few years for lots of households, with cost of living pressures piling on and employment uncertainty.

If you’re aiming to get on track again this year, setting a budget and goals is a great place to start. They can work together to get you where you want to be.

Here are some things to ponder.

What are your goals?

It is often helpful to start thinking about what you want to achieve and breaking your goals down to things that can be done in the short term, and those that might take a bit longer.

Short-term goals might be things like a holiday in a couple of months, while longer-term might be saving a house deposit or for your retirement.

Make sure your goals are clear and achievable, that you can tick off progress towards.

They need to be measurable so you know when you’ve achieved them or are closer to them. Save $50 a week, for example, rather than “save more”. Celebrate your wins along the way to keep you motivated.

It helps to know why you’ve chosen the goals, too.

Doing something just because you think you should is a lot less motivating than doing it because it’s going to improve your life or make you happier.

Liz Koh, financial coach at Enrich Retirement, says setting goals first and then thinking about making them happen is a useful “top down” approach that is more likely to result in behavioural change.

That’s important because, for lots of us, it’s the behavioural change that needs to happen to help us stick to a budget.

Koh recommends focusing on goals that are small steps.

“One of the biggest mistakes people make is trying to get ahead too quickly. Money is an important part of life that serves a multitude of purposes. It is not something you can do without.

“For the same reason that you can’t reach your goal weight on an overnight diet or suddenly become as fit as an Olympic athlete, you can’t go from being broke to being seriously wealthy in a short space of time.

“The first lesson in changing your relationship with money is to set attainable goals that reflect the reality of your current financial situation. It is better to take small steps and be successful than to set unrealistic goals and fail. Achieving small steps may give you the confidence to gradually take bigger steps. If you have never been able to save, trying saving just a small amount each week and increase the amount over time.”

Budget

Your budget can be a tool to help you get to the goals, because it’ll give you a clear picture of what’s going on.

This is where you will be able to work out whether you can free up money to put towards your goals.

Tom Hartmann, personal finance spokesperson at Sorted, says people either do a budget to make what they are already doing work, or to try to do something different.

Either way, it often helps to draw up a budget showing your current situation: How much is coming in, what’s going on, what you’re spending money on. Then you can see what can be adjusted.

You can usually get a good idea of what’s been happening by looking at previous bank statements. Some banks have apps that track your spending to do this for you.

“We’re creatures of routine, we keep going back to the same places, spending the same amounts, especially over a given year,” Hartmann said.

“If you download your statements over a year, where you’re spending money is the usual suspects.”

If you want to save money, or find a surplus to start investing, you should be able to use your budget to identify areas that can be trimmed. You could also look at how your budget would work with different levels of KiwiSaver contribution.

Sorted has a budget planner that might help, and there are also apps that can guide you.

“If you find you’re spending less than you earn, which is a really good thing, you can use that budget to work out how much you can save each time you’re paid and flow it to what you want, that idea of paying yourself first.,” Hartmann said.

“If it’s the opposite and you’re spending more than you earn, living on debt or credit cards, you can use the budget to see where any extra money you might have is going and find a way to spend less or earn more.”

If your budget shows money is really tight and there is no surplus to speak of, you might be able to use it to identify the pressure points and areas where change could be most effective.

Don’t rewrite your budget to be overly harsh, though. If you restrict yourself too much, it can be hard to stick to.

Koh recommends people keep aside some funds for the important things – even if that’s only what’s most important to you.

“You will have a much more enjoyable life if your money is spent on things that really matter to you. Look at what you can cut back on without depriving yourself. Redirect spending from trivial or unimportant items to a savings account for spending on the stuff that matters. Only you can decide what is important about money to you. There is no right and wrong when it comes to choosing what you spend money on so long as you understand the consequences of your choices,” Koh said.

Hartmann says a budget is a valuable tool but only part of the planning picture. “What are you going to use the tool to do? Your budget is a spending plan.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The past year was a tough grind for many households and businesses but forecasters say there is economic improvement on the horizon.

Kelly Eckhold, chief economist at Westpac, said he was expecting the economy to be much stronger in 2026, with growth in GDP of about 3 percent over the year compared to a flat 2025.

“That’s supported by lower interest rates in the coming year. Whereas in 2025 we saw relatively strong performance by the primary sector and tourism to some extent but not so much the services sector and the bits of the economy that really drive the major urban areas, we think we probably have much more balanced growth in 2026.”

Households might not see much wage growth initially, he said, because that was one of the last things to move, but inflation should be weaker. “The cost of living crisis should ease off a bit.”

Gareth Kiernan, chief forecaster at Infometrics, agreed things should improve.

“It can’t be worse, right? You’ve had good export prices, you’ve got interest rates which are headed lower than we had been thinking… there’s a bit of caution coming on some of those exports… but I think between the effects of the strong prices over the last 18 months and the low interest rates and the government doing more in the infrastructure space – if not anywhere else, you put all those together and there are enough signs that growth should be better.”

He said the international environment would be something to keep an eye on. “Trump and the tariffs had derailed things somewhat through the early part of this year and that sort of has hung over the economy for the rest of 2025. But who really knows in that space, I guess.”

He said there were some small signs that the labour market was already improving and that should continue to build. “There does seem to be a bit more of an air of optimism and maybe a bit more genuine growth starting to come through as opposed to the high business confidence we had a year ago which didn’t really translate into anything much this year.”

Economists from BMI, a Fitch Solutions company, said they expected 2 percent growth in 2026.

“The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s rate cuts will continue to ease monetary policy conditions – even if most of the easing cycle is likely behind us – supporting household spending and business investment. We anticipate a 25 basis points cut to 2 percent by the end of 2026. Government infrastructure projects – including Auckland’s City Rail Link, major highway upgrades such as the Waikato Expressway, and water resilience programmes – will add momentum. Externally, strong demand for dairy and meat, alongside a tourism rebound, should underpin growth.

“However, downside risks persist. An escalation in global trade tensions or new tariffs could weaken export performance, while a slower-than-expected recovery in Mainland China – New Zealand’s largest trading partner – would dampen agricultural demand.

“Domestically, persistent labor shortages and wage pressures could restrain productivity, and delays to infrastructure projects would reduce fiscal support. Additionally, if inflation proves sticky, the Reserve Bank may pause or reverse rate cuts, curbing the anticipated lift to consumption and investment.”

Simplicity chief economist Shamubeel Eaqub said he was much more optimistic about 2026. “Mainly because we’re starting to see a bottom in a lot of things a the moment. Some of the distress is fading.”

But he said the recovery would not be felt evenly.

“I think there has been a real expansion of poverty in New Zealand, there’s a chunk of New Zealanders that are continuing to do it really tough.

“They’re stuck in that position where they work in industries that are not going to recover strongly. They work in industries that have relative low-wage, they work and live in places where the cost of living has gone up a lot with rents… so these things are not going to turn around quickly.

“A rising economy Is not enough to lift them up.. But for the median and for the people in the top end I think things will look a lot better.”

Sources of growth will change, he said, as some of the momentum shifted out of the primary sector.

“But by the second half of the year, all the weight of the rate cuts, the cumulative benefits of all the rate cuts would have come through. And we should start to see banks lending again because, you know, they’re fair weather friends.

“And then once they start lending money, that’s when you really juice up the cycle because it’s really about investments.

“When people start to make investments and businesses make investments, that’s really when the economy recovers. Also, I’m getting more optimistic on the government’s capex plans.

“For the last couple of years, they’ve been reducing spending, reducing spending, reducing spending. That’s really the only place austerity has worked so far in not investing in infrastructure. But if you look at all the announcements that have taken place in the second half of this year, it’s all about central government and local government doing more next year. And so all the pipeline stuff, it looks like we are going to see quite a lot of activity starting in the beginning of next year. So with the government coming back and hopefully the private sector coming back through the middle of next year, you’ve kind of got more of a platform for growth.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

An Ikea shopper who tried to buy a set of dining chairs was left fuming after the order was cancelled – except for the stickers on the bottom of the chairs, which still carried a $69 delivery fee.

“I placed an online order for four dining chairs through their app very early on the second day since IKEA launched in Aotearoa,” Rana Ghosh told RNZ.

“I double-checked that it was in stock before placing the order. I was fast in ordering because I knew this product even before their app officially started listing all the products. Per their app recommendation, I added stickers ($1.25) for the legs of the chairs to prevent these from scratching the floor. They added $69 for shipping my order to Lower Hutt.

“On Christmas Eve, the stickers arrived in a rather large box. They informed me that they have already unilaterally processed refund of the cost of the chairs. I think you can guess where it is going with the shipping charges… Friendly person from Mainfreight laughed out loud when I shared this anecdote.

“Soon after singing the receipt for the chair stickers, I received an email from Ikea that sounds more like mockery than a Christmas gift with the subject: ‘Have fun with your order from Ikea’.”

There have been a number of problems reported in recent weeks for Ikea, which opened its first New Zealand shop in early December.

Another man said he had only the legs of a desk delivered and was charged $79.

Earlier last month it said it would shut its customer support centre for a period to focus on resolving outstanding issues.

Ghosh said the experience reflected badly on Ikea and seemed to suggest it had not invested adequately in training staff or understanding the local market.

Ikea said in a statement that it had made significant progress in resolving the majority of cases and delivering outstanding customer orders since it opened.

“While we don’t comment on individual cases, instances like this are not aligned with our high expectations for customer service at Ikea, and all teams across our business are working hard to ensure these don’t happen.

“We remain fully committed to constantly improving our processes to consistently deliver the reliable experience customers expect from Ikea.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

2025 was not a great year for many house price forecasters, who had to revise their forecasts down many times as the year went on.

At the start of the year, Westpac thought prices might lift 7 percent. At one point ASB thought they could lift 10 percent.

But while activity picked up over the past 12 months, prices were mostly flat and even went through months of decline in the middle of the year.

So what might lie ahead in the coming 12 months?

Commentators say there is likely to be a bit of an increase in prices in the year ahead, but this time no one expects increases anywhere near double-digit percentages.

BNZ chief economist Mike Jones said house prices might rise 4 percent over 2026, about the same as the Reserve Bank’s forecast.

“We’ve had three years in which house prices basically went sideways – we think the trend will bend upwards.”

But he said that increase would be below the average increase of earlier years and there was a chance that the lift could be smaller than 4 percent.

Turnover was back to healthy levels, he said.

“When we when we stack up the demand factors for next year, they’re all pretty positive – you’ve got the economy defrosting, which tends to coincide with a bit more housing market activity, you’ve got population growth which will probably pick up a bit… And mortgage rates may not go a lot lower, but they’re going to stay relatively low and at levels that will support a bit more housing investment.

“So I think when you line up those demand factors, we will see activity continuing to recover. It’s just on the house price front, the big uncertainty, the big question is what happens to supply and that’s been the real story of the last couple of years.

“Even though you’ve got lower mortgage rates and more demand, you’ve had more transactions coming through, that’s been more than offset by listings and growth in supply. We may be in the same position next year where we’ve just continued to see supply match up pretty well with demand and there hasn’t been much of a change in house prices.”

Kelvin Davidson, chief economist at property data firm Cotality, said 4 percent or 5 percent seemed a likely increase.

“Some of the things that have been restraining house prices – affordability, lots of listings, slowish pass through of lower mortgage rates, a weak economy, weak labour market – some of those things seem to be turning around now. Affordability is back to normal, interest rates are passing through a lot more, the economy is starting to turn around and listings have come down a bit. The conditions are definitely in place for growth in property values next year.”

But he said things like debt-to-income ratios would limit growth and there was still a strong supply of houses being built.

Wellington and Auckland were lagging other markets and could have more room to grow, he said. “I’m not saying they necessarily will but at some point in those markets you think they could snap back a little faster. But generally I think we’ll probably still have a wee bit of a two-speed economy… parts of Canterbury, Southland, Taranaki – rural areas might rise a bit more strongly as they have been doing this year.”

But Gareth Kiernan, chief forecaster at Infometrics and one of the few who initially expected the housing market to be weak in 2025, said he was not confident there would be much growth at all.

“We still have house prices going sideways or potentially drifting slightly down through the next year. That’s essentially based around our affordability argument that while interest rates are lower it doesn’t necessarily mean that people want to take on more debt or pay more for housing. House price-to-income ratios are still worse than any time prior to 2020.”

But he said if there was a strong economic recovery it could put pressure on house prices and he was not as confident in his forecast as he had been in previous years.

Rental market

Jones said what happened with the rental market would depend on population growth.

Rents have slowed significantly around the country.

“Population growth is quite weak, it’s about half the long-run average and so there’s been that excess of supply particularly when we’ve seen departures from New Zealand at relatively high levels. I think the picture will change as we go through next year. We’ll see the rental markets stabilise.”

Kiernan agreed the rental market was likely to be flat too. “We’ve got weak net migration, weak population growth, we’ve been seeing the impacts of that to some degree on the softness in the rental market through this year as well.”

Davidson said even though rents had been edging lower they were still high in relation to incomes. “That’s a natural handbrake. There’s still a decent amount of property out there. The rebalancing to a degree of the overall housing stock is keeping a lid on prices but it’ll also keep a lid on rents…. but rents don’t tend to fall for too long.

“So it could be that there’s a wee bit of growth next year. But generally, I think rental markets still stay pretty subdued, sort of vaguely in favour of tenants and a bit tougher for landlords.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A luxury island development in South Auckland has welcomed its first residents after more than a decade in the works.

Pararēkau Island in Karaka was connected to the mainland by a causeway with a gate which would only allow cars belonging to residents to enter.

Prices for the lots started at $1.6m and up to $3.5m for prime spots.

In the past, the land was used to graze stock, but in 2012 the Environment Court approved plans for a subdivision after developers, Ian and James Ross, agreed to build a coastal walk allowing the public to access the island on foot.

General manager of developer Ross Holdings, Andrew Frost, said it had been in the works for a very long time and after consent for a subdivision was given the green light the developers looked at trying something different but reverted back to the idea in recent years.

In December, the very first residents moved into their brand new home on the island while Frost said four other homes were nearing completion.

There were 116 freehold sections on the island and titles issued for 103 lots – Frost said 50 percent of the available sections had now sold.

Paul and Mary Kenny, who had lived in nearby Papakura for 45 years were the first two people to be living on the island.

Paul Kenny said the island was their retirement location and they had been looking at houses in Karaka Harbourside, a development also by the Ross brothers, when they became aware of the island.

He said they heard by word of mouth that titles for the island weren’t far off and so the couple got in touch and arranged a visit to the island.

“One visit and considerable research was all it took for Mary to say ‘I could live there’ and the rest as they say, was history.

“The proximity of the island to all amenities, the quality of the development itself and the potential lifestyle options Karaka presented all influenced our decision.”

Being the first two people living on the island, was a “privilege”, Paul Kenny said, and enjoyed the peace and quiet there.

“Not to mention the incomparable outlook across the inner reaches of the Manukau Harbour,” he said.

The couple said they were, however, looking forward to the fact a few new neighbours were now beginning to move in as more houses reached completion.

Advertising for the island on social media in the past, had drawn questions from commenters about future sea level rise, but which Paul Kenny said was something he’d reflected on when first thinking of buying on the island.

“We we soon found both council and the developer had exhaustively canvassed the potential for this and their collective pronouncements on the subject, together with our own observations of the surrounding area, caused us to feel very comfortable,” he said.

Frost confirmed the lowest section on the island was 6.5m above sea level and the entire island satisfied council’s Auckland Council’s 100-year sea level rise criteria.

He believed many of the comments received on social media were from “keyboard warriors”.

“It’s very topical obviously, with the floods that have happened to Auckland… council would never have allowed us to do the subdivision unless it was safe to do so.”

Frost said he was of the belief the island was the only gated community island in New Zealand.

“So vehicles can’t proceed past the gates unless they’ve got a code… so it’s a very secure island.

“There is a pedestrian gate so people can walk around the edges of the island between the hours of 7am to 7pm, so it’s walking only [for non-residents], if they need to come across on a vehicle unfortunately they cannot unless they get permission from a resident.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Retirement is one of the biggest financial changes that many people go through in their lives.

If this is the year that you sign out of work for the last time, you might be wondering what you need to tidy up before you do.

Here are five questions to ask yourself.

When are you going to do it?

New Zealand does not have a set retirement age. You become eligible for the pension at 65, but you do not have to stop working at that point. You can claim NZ Super while you are working, and the only change that you are likely to notice is that you may no longer receive KiwiSaver contributions from your employer.

Liz Koh, founder of Enrich Retirement, said it could be hard to decide on the right time to retire.

“There is a balance to be had between retiring too early and retiring too late.”

She said the idea of retiring before 65 appealed to many people but would have consequences.

“Early retirement cuts short the time you have left to save for retirement and also lengthens your retirement, putting extra strain on your financial resources. The difference between retiring at 60 and retiring at 65 will add an extra few hundred thousand to the amount you need to retire.

“For example, you would need an extra $250,000 to provide an income of somewhere around $50,000 a year for five years, given that you would not be receiving NZ Superannuation for that period.”

She said it could also be a tricky social adjustment.

“It’s not easy to find yourself at age 60 amongst a cohort of people with an average age of 75 or more. There is a trend for people to retire later than 65, so finding other retirees of a similar age is challenging. Retiring early requires some forethought about how you want to spend your time and with whom, especially as many of your friends will still be working.”

But more people are working past 65 and she said that could make sense, too.

“Many people find themselves with insufficient funds to retire at 65 while others want to continue leading an active life and are just not ready to slow down at 65. Longevity is increasing with the life expectancy rising to 90 or more for people who reach the age of 65 and some people feel that a retirement of 25 to 30 years is too long.

“Living longer means more money is required to fund retirement. However leaving it too long carries the risk that your ability to enjoy retirement might be curtailed by health problems or even premature death.”

David Boyle, general manager of KiwiSaver at Fisher Funds, said many people chose to work at least part time until they were 70. “Many feel they need to but there are also a lot of other really good benefits for being in some level of work whether it’s paid or not – connectivity with people, having purpose, all those good positive things.”

Where will you live?

Koh said people should take stock of their financial lives and also consider where they would live.

Some retirees were “asset rich but cash poor”, she said, because their money was all tied up in their homes. For some, downsizing or moving to a cheaper area could help.

People living in smaller centres could generally get by on less money than people in big cities, she said.

What will your lifestyle be like?

Koh said people should consider their health and how long they were likely to live, based on the experience of family members.

They could also think about how long they were likely to be in good health.

“If you are a couple, how much of a difference there is between you in terms of both lifespan and healthspan. If there are large differences, you may choose to base your retirement plans on the partner with the shortest lifespan or healthspan.”

What will you do?

Koh said people should consider what goals they had for their retirement, and how they would spend their time.

Preparing plans that would allow them to keep in touch with other people would be important, she said.

“Social isolation is linked to depression, poor health and potentially a shortened life span. It can be a real problem for people whose social connections have been largely based around their work situation.

“Organisations such as MenzShed and Probus were set up to enable retirees to interact with like-minded people. Of course, there are many other options such as hobby and interest groups or volunteer organisations that provide opportunities to build friendships with others,” she said.

“Joining such groups before reaching retirement helps to make the transition easier. You can always set up your own group – something as simple as a book club or neighhourhood watch group – if nothing is available in your area.”

What do you need to do with your investments?

Boyle said people should not think of 65 as the finish line for their investing.

“It’s not the finish line, it’s the beginning of the fun line – this is where all your work and effort is going to be used for doing things that you’ve always wanted to do but never had the time to do it.”

He said people would need to work out the best way to make their money last as long as they needed it to.

They might have some invested for the latter parts of their retirement, which could have more exposure to growth assets, and some that was in less volatile investments that could be used to fund the things they wanted to do in the first 10 years of retirement.

“Having a plan is incredibly important, and then understanding … your longevity increases as well which means you need to make sure your money is working as hard as you were when you were working. Thinking about your allocation … talk to your KiwiSaver adviser, your financial advisers who can give you a better picture.

“If you’re in that lucky group that has a lot of money already you might be looking at how you can plan that at an intergenerational level. Having some good advice and planning around that is really important.”

He said people should not be afraid to change their plans if their circumstances changed.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Founder of accounting company Xero, Sir Rod Drury, who has been made a Knight Companion in the New Year Honours, says he has loved using his business skills to help the community in recent years.

Drury has been made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to business, the technology industry and philanthropy.

Drury co-founded Xero in 2006 and helped develop it into a billion-dollar global company.

Drury moved to Queenstown in 2019 after he retired as chief executive of Xero.

He said since then he has enjoyed using his business skills to help the community in Queenstown in a variety of ways.

“Working on getting a hospital down to the Southern Lakes, putting in a lot effort into that,” said Drury. “And working on solving the public transport problems with a new gondola, and those are projects that if you were sitting inside a normal company it would be hard to do, but if you have the time and resources to throw at thing, you can do things a lot more quickly.”

Drury has also been involved in environmental restoration through Mana Tāhuna and Project Tohu, funded equipment and facilities for Surf Lifesaving New Zealand, and supported Ngāi Tahu students and artists.

He established Southern Infrastructure to support Queenstown public infrastructure projects and Tāhuna Ride and Conservation Trust which supports regenerative planting along with creating mountain bike trails.

Drury said the accomplishment he was most proud of was twice taking his company public, with Xero listing first on the New Zealand stock market and then in Australia.

“One of the things I have learnt over time is if you take a company public it gives a whole lot of other people the opportunity for financial security,” said Drury.

“If you do list a company it creates a product that people can put money in, and they can move themselves ahead forward too.

“It’s a pretty noble cause. So of all the highlights I think creating a public company that still lives today, 20 years later, is something I am very proud of.”

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Drury was a titan of New Zealand business.

“While at the helm of Xero, it became New Zealand’s second largest tech exporter, generating thousands of jobs and supporting more than four million customers worldwide. The company were pioneers in mental health and diversity. Since 2020 he has spearheaded public good infrastructure and philanthropic projects. His entrepreneurial career has seen New Zealand benefit in the fields of education, the environment, and renewable energy.”

Sir Rod Drury is one of four new knights, and three new dames named in the New Year Honours.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand