Financial Planning for Your Retirement

Planning for retirement is a crucial step toward ensuring financial security in your later years. A key part of this process is determining your "retirement number"—the amount of savings required to maintain your desired lifestyle.

Understanding this number helps shape your savings strategy and investment decisions, guiding you toward a comfortable and secure retirement. 

Keeping Safe: Tips for a Fun and Reduced-Risk Silly Season

If you’re a fan of the ACC ads, “Have a hmmm”, you’ll be familiar with the thought of being a bit too adventurous and the impact that might have on you and your loved ones  - whether it’s not being able to take the kids to sport, or having someone else give you a bath!

So, this summer we’ve put together a few thoughts around keeping yourself and others safe, so that you can all enjoy Christmas and the Kiwi summer together - without worrying who’s going to help you dress when you can’t!

Have Life Insurance? Here’s Why a Will is Just as Important

you’ve ever thought about making a will but put it off for another day, you’re not alone. It’s one of those tasks that many people push down the priority list, especially if life is busy and everything seems fine.
However, if you have life insurance, having a will is more important than you might think

How Insurance Can Help You Cover Mental Health Costs

Mental health is something we're all learning to talk about more openly, and that’s a good thing. While mental health issues are affecting an increasing number of New Zealanders, we’re also becoming more comfortable having those conversations and seeking the treatment we need. Across all ages, people are realising that asking for help is a sign of strength.

Full Replacement vs. Sum Insured: Navigating Your Home Insurance Choice

Demystifying Insurance Premiums: Factors that Influence Insurance Premiums and Tips on Managing Them

Are you unsure whether to make a small claim because it might affect your premiums? Have your premiums gone up and you're not sure why? Or maybe there's been a change in your circumstances, and you’re wondering how it will impact your premiums? We're here to help explain insurance premiums and share some handy tips for managing them.

Should I be considering Redundancy Insurance?

Are insurance policies tax deductible in New Zealand?

Why you need a will, and how to write one

Everyone knows that having a will is really important, but it can seem overwhelming and hard to start the process of creating it.

Why (and how) to keep your insurance policies during tough times

Should I have health insurance for my kids?

Here in Aotearoa, parents and caregivers of young children are fortunate to have access to a public health system that provides free GP care to children aged 13 and under. Anyone who’s experienced a child with a high fever, ear or throat infection, or one of the dozens of viruses that afflict young kids will know exactly how reassuring it is to be able to book a GP appointment without giving affordability a second thought.

While this ability to rely on free primary care is invaluable, it can also mean that parents and caregivers consider health insurance for Kiwi kids to be an unnecessary expense. And, for some children, it’s true that health insurance will never be needed – but for others, it’s worth its weight in gold. That’s because having health insurance for your kids means you can access specialist medical care from private healthcare providers around the country without having to wait.

Are Insurance Payouts Taxable in New Zealand?

Have you just received an insurance payout? You may be wondering if you need to pay tax on this. We're here to help. The tax implication of insurance can get a little complex in New Zealand, so we wrote this blog to help demystify the topic for you. We've covered which payouts are not taxable, which are, and some that are situation-dependent. Check it out!

Preparing for Unexpected Expenses in Retirement: Building an Emergency Fund

As you near retirement or enter this new phase of life, it becomes crucial to plan for unexpected expenses that may arise. Building an emergency fund specifically for retirement can provide peace of mind and financial security.

Stop Holiday Budget Arguments With These 9 Proven Strategies

What Do Investors Believe They Can Do But Can’t?

It is often said that a useful measure of happiness is the gap between reality and expectations. A similar approach can be adopted for identifying poor investment decisions. They tend to occur when our expectations of what we are capable of exceed the reality. This miscalibration leads us into activities and behaviours that we really should avoid.

Four Ways to Improve the Probability of a Good Retirement

Around the world, individuals are being asked to take on greater responsibility for their own retirement. In the US, for example, a combination of limited Social Security funding and a reduction in the number of defined benefit (DB) employer plans—historically, the primary retirement savings vehicle for many—is causing investors to make decisions they have never had to face about how to save for retirement.

What happened to bonds?

On November 15, 2020, the New Zealand Herald ran an article titled, ‘What negative interest rates would mean for borrowers and savers’. It said that the Central Bank was seriously considering negative interest rates as an option to stimulate the economy in the post COVID recovery. 

A mere 18 months later, the Central Bank raised the OCR to 2.5%, and indicted further upward moves were likely as outlined in its May Monetary Policy Statement. 

Timing isn’t everything

Over the course of a year, it’s not unusual for the stock market to be a topic of conversation at barbeques or other social gatherings. A neighbour or relative might ask about which investments are good at the moment. The lure of getting in at the right time or avoiding the next downturn may tempt even disciplined, long-term investors.

The reality of successfully timing markets, however, isn’t as straightforward as it sounds.

A Ten-point Plan for the Bear Market

After a long period of financial markets being treated largely as background noise by the media, news of their daily swings have been promoted back to the front pages of newspapers and the top of TV news bulletins. Naturally, investors are suddenly sitting up and taking notice. What’s causing all the volatility? More importantly, what if anything can you do about it?