How to do KiwiSaver better

Today Mary Holm talks about how people are doing KiwiSaver badly and how that can change. She also has some answers to listener questions sent in during previous appearances.Mary Holm talks about how people are doing KiwiSaver badly and how that can change.The Financial Markets Authority has just put out of an annual report on KiwiSaver which prompted Mary Holm to look again at our retirement planning."We've got over 3 million people in the scheme, which is pretty impressive, but that still means there are about 2 million who aren't. Listen to Mary Holm talk KiwiSaver"And these days everybody can join. It used to be people over 65 couldn't, but these days over 65 can join."Everybody who can should be in a KiwiSaver fund, Mary says."Because you're getting money coming in from the government, and in many cases from an employer, your savings are going to grow quite a lot faster than they would in any other saving scheme."Even if you are not employed, it makes sense to put in enough to earn the government contribution, she says."If you're not an employee, which means you're including the self-employed, or people at home looking after kids or beneficiaries, then the government puts in 50 cents for every dollar you put in - up to $1042 from you and $521 from the government."She suggests such people should set up a monthly direct debit. "Set that up to put in perhaps $87 a month is a good way to do it, then you're going to have one and a half times as much savings in KiwiSaver, as you would somewhere else."For most employees, it's more like twice because they get money from the government and from their employer, she says."So instead of retiring with $200,000 you retire with $400,000, it's very powerful."Of the 3 million in a fund, 1 million are making no contributions, she says."Which must mean they're either on a saving suspension, if they're an employee, or otherwise, they not an employee, and they just stopped contributing."And that's a real pity, a lot of people I think, got out of KiwiSaver, because they said they can't afford it - but get back in again if you possibly can."Even $20 a week will mean you get the government contribution of $521, she saysThe research also showed people are getting switchy, Mary says, with switches up 57 percent on two years ago."Forty percent of those switches in the recent year was to a higher risk funds. And generally speaking, I'd say those are probably good switches…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details