Author(s): Gareth Morgan

Business

Contrary to what the big institutions are claiming, there's no such thing as an easy investment decision. Kiwisaver is just another investment avenue, which ought to be considered alongside all the other available investment avenues, not instead of them. And like all the rest, it carries an element of risk. This book aims to inform you of the risks. The first chapter will ask the most basic question of them all when it comes to making decisions about retirement saving: why bother? Chapters two and three will give you an overview of how Kiwisaver will work for you. It will walk you through the figures: how much you'll be putting in, how much your employer will be putting in, how much the government will be putting in. Chapters four and five will look at what we're going to call provider risk - the exposure investors in Kiwisaver are going to have to an industry that has a long and undistinguished track record of ripping off their customers through fee-gouging, ticket-clipping and downright fraudulent mismanagement practices.Chapter six will look at the government's role in all this, and Chapter seven will examine what we'll call political risk - the danger that Kiwisaver as it's presently constructed will become just another political fashion-victim. First published November 2007.