KiwiSaver
under control?
We've teamed up with KiwiSaver specialist kōura to help you make the right decisions to get the retirement you deserve and expect.
Personal KiwiSaver Builder
In order for us to design your portfolio, we need to know a few of your details.
Sort your fund type
KiwiSaver funds aren't all equal. Growth. Balanced, conservative, default, they are all very different, unfortunately being in the wrong fund can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The difference between getting it right and getting it wrong
Based on the average KiwiSaver client, 30 years old and on an $80,000 salary, contributing 3% to KiwiSaver. Right fund assumes kōura neutral glidepath, wrong fund assumes client stays in default fund.
Avoid the high fees
KiwiSaver fees are constant, whereas returns come and go. Research shows that lower fees (and the right asset allocation) are the most important determinants of returns over the long run. Make sure you are not stuck in a high fee fund.
Impact of higher fees
Based on the average KiwiSaver client, 30 years old and on an $80,000 salary, contributing 3% to KiwiSaver. ‘Low fees’ assumes kōura fees of 0.63% per annum, ‘average fees’ assumes average growth fund fees of 1.21%, ‘high fees’ indicates highest growth fund cost of 1.6%.
Understand what your
KiwiSaver can give you
Fundamentally we do KiwiSaver to fund our retirement. So we need to figure out how much weekly income we could get from our KiwiSaver in retirement. You should aim for 70-100%. Will your contribution rates give you that?
Weekly income in retirement
Based on the average KiwiSaver client. 30 year old on $80,000 salary, contributing 3% to KiwiSaver through to age 65. Income replacement includes impact of NZ Super
Align With Your Ethics
Make sure your KiwiSaver aligns with your ethics. Do you want your KiwiSaver supporting nuclear weapons, gambling, or adult entertainment? Use your KiwiSaver to shape the world you want to live in.
Gambling
Civilian Weapons
Controversial Weapons
Adult Entertainment
Whaling
Tobacco
Why kōura
LifeDirect has partnered with kōura, NZ's most personalised KiwiSaver scheme to help all of our customers make the best KiwiSaver decisions.
We have been able to help you protect the important things in life. kōura can help protect your retirement which is equally important.
See kōura at work
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Mia
AGE
25
SAVING FOR
First Home
SALARY
$55k
KIWISAVER BALANCE
$10k
Mia is a nurse in Dunedin. She’s been investing in her KiwiSaver plan since she started work. Since then, she’s been putting the maximum amount into her KiwiSaver account to allow her to purchase her first house. Her goal is to purchase her house in the next 2-3 years.
kōura has matched Mia with a Very Low-Risk Portfolio, made up of fixed income and cash assets. Any reduction in the value of her portfolio will materially reduce the house deposit that Mia can use. Mia’s portfolio needs to hold its value irrespective of what the market does.
Following this path, Mia's KiwiSaver account should give her a house deposit of $21,350 by the time she’s 28.
Willow
AGE
39
SAVING FOR
Retirement
SALARY
$190k
KIWISAVER BALANCE
$70k
Willow is an advertising executive in Auckland. She has recently returned to work after her second child and is now focusing on saving for her retirement. She is hoping that her KiwiSaver plan is only a part of her retirement savings, though is not yet sure whether that will be the case. She has decided that she wants to maximise the capital growth of her portfolio, rather than minimise volatility, so kōura has assessed her as having a high-risk appetite.
kōura has recommended a High Growth Portfolio for Willow, predominantly made up of growth assets. With 26 years up in her sleeve until retirement, she has lots of time to ride the ups and downs of the market. This approach will give her the biggest pot for her retirement.
As Willow nears retirement, we’ll modify her investment mix so that the focus moves toward protecting her capital rather than maximising the returns. Practically speaking, this means we’ll start to allocate more of her investment funds to lower risk income assets as she gets closer to retirement.
Following this path, Willow should have a KiwiSaver balance of $1,224,038 at 65.
Andrew
AGE
35
SAVING FOR
Retirement
SALARY
$75k
KIWISAVER BALANCE
$5k
Andrew is an electrician in Christchurch. He’s recently purchased his first home and is now starting to think about his retirement.
kōura’s matched him to a High Growth Portfolio, predominantly made up of growth assets. This is because Andrew wants to prioritise capital growth over minimising volatility. With 30 years up in his sleeve until retirement he has lots of time to ride the ups and downs of the market. This approach will give him the biggest pot for his retirement.
As Andrew nears retirement, we’ll modify his investment mix so that we focus on protecting his capital rather than maximising the returns. Practically speaking, this means we’ll start to allocate more of his investment funds to lower risk income assets as he gets closer to retirement.
Following this path, Andrew should have a KiwiSaver balance of $426,000 at 65.
Oscar
AGE
43
SAVING FOR
Retirement
SALARY
$90k
KIWISAVER BALANCE
$35k
Oscar is a police officer in Invercargill. He’s been investing in KiwiSaver since it started back in 2007. Oscar is hoping to retire at 65 and expects his KiwiSaver and police pension to fund his retirement. Oscar has asked to minimise volatility, he does not want to worry if the value of his KiwiSaver savings goes down. As a result of this and the importance of his KiwiSaver account to his retirement, kōura has assessed him as having a conservative risk appetite.
kōura has recommended a Balanced Portfolio for Oscar. This portfolio will deliver an appropriate balance of growth while protecting from significant ups and downs.
As Oscar gets older, we’ll modify his investment mix so that the focus is increasingly toward protecting his capital as he gets older. Practically speaking, this means we’ll be recommending that he adjust his investment mix every year to reduce the proportion of growth assets.
Following this path, Oscar should have a KiwiSaver balance of $371,346 at 65.
Grace
AGE
47
SAVING FOR
Retirement
SALARY
$175k
KIWISAVER BALANCE
$105k
Grace is a lawyer in Wellington who’s just received a shock when someone asked what her KiwiSaver savings were invested in. She’d always assumed she didn’t need to make any decisions and it would be taken care of for her.
Grace’s KiwiSaver account will make up a big chunk of her retirement savings, so she’s going to start upping her contributions to 8% to ensure she has sufficient funds to retire with. Grace has never invested in the share market before, and has asked us to minimise volatility at the expense of capital growth. As a result, kōura has assessed her as having a conservative risk appetite.
kōura has recommended a Balanced Portfolio for Grace. This will deliver an appropriate balance of growth while protecting her from significant ups and downs through to her retirement. We expect Grace to keep some of her KiwiSaver invested and she will slowly draw down on it for the rest of her life.
As Grace nears retirement, we’ll modify her investment mix so the focus is increasingly toward protecting her capital rather than maximising the returns. Practically speaking, this means we’ll be recommending she adjust her investment mix every year to reduce the proportion of growth assets.
Following this path, Grace should have a KiwiSaver balance of $601,105 at 65.
Jane
AGE
60
SAVING FOR
Retirement
SALARY
$60k
KIWISAVER BALANCE
$80k
Jane is a receptionist in Napier. She has been contributing to her KiwiSaver account since it started, back in 2007. She’s expecting to retire in five years time when she turns 65. Jane has a house that is now mortgage-free, but she and her husband hope their KiwiSaver accounts will provide a significant amount of their income when they stop working.
kōura has matched Jane to a Low-Risk Portfolio, made up primarily of fixed income assets. Jane’s goal is to preserve capital, she needs to make sure the value of her assets does not dip too far because she’ll start drawing down on them in the next few years.
Following this path, Janet should have a KiwiSaver balance of $116,000 at 65.
Jack
AGE
59
SAVING FOR
Retirement
SALARY
$215k
KIWISAVER BALANCE
$130k
Jack is a senior executive for a large company in Christchurch. He has been investing in his KiwiSaver plan since it started back in 2007. He was invested in a growth fund up until December 2018, when a significant drop in the market caused him to move it all to a cash fund.
Jack is hoping to retire at 65, though he does not expect his KiwiSaver account to make up a significant part of his retirement. He has a number of rental properties as well as his KiwiSaver investment. Jack has asked us to maximise capital rather than minimise volatility. As a result, kōura has assessed him as having an aggressive risk appetite.
kōura has recommended a Balanced Portfolio for Jack. This portfolio will deliver an appropriate balance of growth while protecting from significant ups and downs. We have designed the portfolio to ensure the balance keeps on growing, we expect Jack to keep his balance invested (at least partially) through until he is 90.
As Jack gets older, we’ll modify his investment mix so that the focus is increasingly toward protecting his capital as he gets older. Practically speaking, this means we’ll be recommending that he adjust his investment mix every year to reduce the proportion of growth assets.
Following this path, Jack should have a KiwiSaver balance of $256,626 at 65.
Harry
AGE
30
SAVING FOR
First Home
SALARY
$110k
KIWISAVER BALANCE
$80k
Harry is a production manager in a food factory in Hamilton. He’s been working for 10 years and contributing to KiwiSaver the whole way through. He wants to use his KiwiSaver savings to purchase a house, though not for another four to five years. He’s also told us he wants to maximise returns, so he has a high-risk appetite.
kōura has matched Harry with a Balanced Portfolio, made up of fixed income and growth assets. Harry needs to strike a careful balance between maximising growth and protecting his capital. He’ll have a bit of time for his portfolio to recover if there’s a market downturn but is unlikely to see it through a full market cycle.
Following this path, Harry’s KiwiSaver plan should give him a house deposit of $109,872 by the time he’s 33.
Matt
AGE
25
SAVING FOR
First Home
SALARY
$75K
KIWISAVER BALANCE
$20K
Matt is a 25-year-old young professional who is saving up for a first home purchase. He earns a $75k salary from his job at an engineering firm. He doesn't know much about investing but doesn’t mind the ups and downs of the market.
kōura has matched Harry with a Balanced Portfolio, made up of fixed income and growth assets. Matt needs to strike a careful balance between maximising growth and protecting his capital. He’ll have a bit of time for his portfolio to recover if there’s a market downturn but is unlikely to see it through a full market cycle.
Following this path, Matt’s KiwiSaver plan should give him a house deposit of $48,000 by the time he’s 30.
These profiles represent indicative customers and are not based on real people.
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