Latest news with #SusanEdmunds
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Homes gates, security systems affected by 3G shutdown
By Susan Edmunds of RNZ A Christchurch woman was shocked to be told that if she wants her automatic gate to keep working as it is now she'll have to spend almost $1000 to get it upgraded. The gate runs on the 3G mobile network that is being turned off at the end of the year. She said she wouldn't be too annoyed, except that she only bought the gate in January last year, well after the shutdown of the network was signalled. "We saved for ages for the gate, you'd expect something like that to last." When she posted on social media about the issue, she was contacted by other people facing similar problems. Aero New Zealand, which provides gate access automation, said Centurion G-Ultra and G-Speak Ultra devices would not have any GSM functionality after the end of this year. General manager Anton Neveling said initially there had been hundreds that needed to be updated but there were now only a handful remaining. He said the detail of the upgrade procedure would vary according to the installer doing the work. "Since early 2024, we've actively promoted 4G upgrade campaigns to our installer network and have only sold 4G-capable devices for the last two years. The majority of our install base have upgraded since the notices started going out . The telcos' 2G/3G shutdown was initially planned for end of 2024 so who knows even if they will keep to the end of year new deadline, however most of our clients already upgraded in the past 12 months, and the remaining ones will upgrade if they want to in the next six month as some just simply use their remote to open the gates. "In our product space, the 3G shutdown does not affect the gate, remote control, or keypad operation, only app-based functions such as push notifications, SMS alerts, or opening via a mobile app." His business had stopped selling the 3G gates in 2023 with the expectation that the shutdown would happen. But it was possible that Elly's had remained in a warehouse until it was installed. "Something I believe is a more pressing concern across other industries - luckily not us - is the impact on the security alarm sector, where many systems still rely heavily on 2G and 3G networks for connectivity. Numerous alarm providers are facing significant upgrade programs, as these systems often stop working entirely when the network is retired." Nick Gelling, product test writer at Consumer NZ, said the shutdown of the 3G network was announced in 2022 and businesses selling products relying on it should have known it was coming. "If you purchased something in the last few years that will stop working after 3G is shut down, you can ask the retailer to put it right under the Consumer Guarantees Act as the goods are not fit for purpose or of acceptable quality. The retailer has to provide a repair, replacement or refund. The only exception to this would be if the retailer clearly warned you the product would stop working when 3G is shut down at the end of this year. "If you don't have any luck with the retailer, you can lodge a claim at the Disputes Tribunal." Paul Brislen, chief executive of the Telecommunications Forum, said there were a huge array of devices that communicated with the outside world and people needed to determine whether they used 3G and needed upgrading or not. "Devices I've come across so far include some agri-tech equipment, lifts, solar arrays, health monitor alarms, fleet tracking systems and quite a lot else besides. This is the first I've heard of gates, though. "The telco sector started talking to equipment makers about this sort of dependency several years ago and has been working with a number of technology providers to make sure they're supporting customers. For some it's as simple as swapping out the communications module or upgrading the device, but for others the modules are embedded in the product and customers will need a new model to continue operating." He said his organisation had written to retailers reminding them to double-check to make sure products they were selling would continue to function after the shut-off. The Commerce Commission said it had received nine inquiries relating to products' workability after the 3G shutdown. "Under the Fair Trading Act, traders should not mislead consumers about the products and services that they sell. Traders should inform consumers of any upcoming changes when selling devices that may no longer work once the changes to 3G are implemented. "If consumers are not informed of these changes at time of purchase, this could raise concerns under the Fair Trading Act. Consumers also have rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA)."
The Spinoff
4 days ago
- Business
- The Spinoff
Why messing with NZ Super remains political dynamite
Universal super at 65 is increasingly unsustainable, but any attempt to change it will attract fierce political blowback. What's a government to do, wonders Catherine McGregor in today's extract from The Bulletin. No cuts to super – but everything else is on the table Last week's budget delivered a raft of cost-cutting measures, from halving the KiwiSaver member tax credit to tightening access to the Best Start payment. But superannuation was conspicuously untouched – a move that came as no surprise, given NZ First's long-standing defence of the universal pension. High-income earners who can no longer access the KiwiSaver contribution remain fully entitled to super, a benefit projected to cost nearly $25 billion this year and rise to over $45 billion by 2037. Critics have pounced on the apparent double standard, reports RNZ's Susan Edmunds. As economist Shamubeel Eaqub put it: 'It's incoherent … incentives for Kiwis to save for their future [are] means-tested, but New Zealand Super, which is universal welfare for older people, is untouched.' National's slow path to raising the age While ruling out means-testing, both prime minister Christopher Luxon and finance minister Nicola Willis have reiterated National's plan to raise the super age – eventually. The party's policy is to keep the current entitlement age of 65 until 2044, after which it will rise gradually to 67. No one born before 1979 would be affected. In the NZ Herald (paywalled), Fran O'Sullivan argues that such a distant target is little more than political theatre. She contrasts Luxon's timidity on the issue with former National PM Jim Bolger, who methodically raised the age from 60 to 65 over a nine-year period. O'Sullivan notes that Bolger 'managed to convince New Zealanders that a gradual increase … was plain commonsense' at a time when life expectancy was increasing. By contrast, today's leaders seem content to avoid political pain, she writes, even as super becomes an increasingly heavy burden on the budget. One millennial's wail of despair The idea of delaying retirement might make sense on paper – but it's enough to send some younger New Zealanders into an existential tailspin. Writing in The Spinoff this morning, Hayden Donnell delivers a howl of generational frustration: 'Millennials have spent their formative years selling kidneys to pay rent on a draughty villa and getting bullied by gen Z for admittedly being huge losers. They'll spend the next 20 helping fund their parents' generation's Mediterranean cruises. Surely after that they can have a break? I guess not.' Donnell's broader point is that policies like lifting the super age hit those with lower life expectancies and more physically demanding jobs hardest. And while life expectancy has barely moved in recent years – and is even declining in some countries – the financial squeeze on younger generations is intensifying, just as the likelihood of a guaranteed super at 65 starts to fade. Or, in other words: 'Come on man how much shit can people under the age of 40 have shovelled onto them from a great height god damn it christ on a bike argh argh argh no.' 'You can touch anything else. Do not touch my pension' Two of New Zealand's most prominent right-leaning commentators have also weighed in – and their take is not encouraging for National. In his Mike's Minute, Mike Hosking warned that voters' emotional attachment to super far outweighs any argument of fiscal prudence. 'For many, superannuation is untouchable. It's a lifetime's worth of work. 'I paid my taxes' they say, even though that line isn't actually real because we spent your taxes years ago and then borrowed a bit more to keep the lights on.' Hosking's Newstalk ZB colleague Heather du Plessis-Allan was even more emphatic: 'Don't touch my pension. You can touch anything else. Do not touch my pension.' Despite advocating for cuts to almost every other form of welfare, she drew a hard line at super, arguing that she and millions like her had earned it through years of tax contributions. 'So, good luck to Chris Luxon getting this one across the line,' she wrote. With opposition like that from his own ideological camp, Luxon may find that even floating the idea of reform is as far as it goes.
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Budget change may cost first home buyers thousands
By Susan Edmunds of RNZ First-home buyers accessing the Kainga Ora-administered First Home Loan will pay a higher fee from 1 July. The scheme allows borrowers to access loans with a deposit as small as 5 percent, if they earn less than $95,000 as an individual without dependents or $150,000 as a couple or single parent. These loans do not fall under the banks' loan-to-value rules and borrowers can usually access bank special rates and do not have to pay the low-equity fees and margins that could otherwise apply. Previously, borrowers had to pay lenders mortgage insurance of 0.5 percent of the loan amount. But from 1 July, that increases to 1.2 percent. Borrowers can pay it upfront or over the lifetime of their loans. The change applies to loans submitted after 1 July. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development said the government had agreed to cease its contribution to the mortgage insurance premium as part of the Budget. "This change is expected to generate savings of $17.9 million per annum from 2025/26 onwards. These savings, along with others identified across the housing portfolio, will be fully reprioritised to support both existing housing services and the delivery of new initiatives within Vote Housing and Urban Development, including investments in social housing, transitional housing, and housing support services." The ministry said for an average first home loan of $550,000 it would increase the premium paid by the borrower from $2750 to $6600. "This cost can be paid upfront or added to the loan, which would increase the total borrowing by approximately $3850. "HUD does not expect that moving to a full cost recovery model will materially affect the uptake of first home loans or households' ability to reach home ownership relative to current settings. The increase in cost is less than 1 percent of the average loan value and is not expected to significantly impact borrowers' ability to service their mortgage, meet deposit requirements, or access lending." David Cunningham, chief executive at mortgage advice firm Squirrel, said it was a change that was "snuck in". But he said it would not make a big difference to most borrowers. "On a $400,000 loan that lifts the LMI from $2000 to $4800. Whilst the $2800 difference seems big, it is just part of the cost of establishing home ownership. Changes to interest rates are a much bigger factor as they impact every year rather than a one-off. With interest rates about 1.5 percent lower than they were a year ago and house prices a bit lower, first-home buyers are in a better position than a year ago, despite this change." There were just over 5500 First Home Loans approved last year. Jeremy Andrews, a mortgage adviser at Key Mortgages, said the change had come as a surprise. "I've done a heck of a lot of Kainga Ora First Home Loans over recent years … a 0.5 percent fee was typically a no brainer even when clients could have been approved with their main banks [with a] low deposit outside the scheme. "There are still cases where it makes sense as that's a one-off fee rather than typical ongoing margin until clients reach the sweet spot of 20 percent equity. "It's also ironically the same 1.2 percent margin that BNZ charges their existing 'main bank' clients with between 5 percent under 10 percent deposit. BNZ, like most other banks, charges an ongoing low equity margin every year until clients can prove they have 20 percent deposit - and this might require an updated valuation to do so." He said a benefit of the First Home Loan scheme was that people could usually be preapproved and it was sometimes possible to get higher cashbacks from banks. "There are several different lenders who can provide preapproval with Kainga Ora First Home Loans, each with pros and cons such as considering either one or two boarders if applicable, turnaround time differences and varying rates and cashbacks. " Karen Tatterson, Loan Market mortgage adviser, said the main banks were generally not issuing pre-approvals for low-deposit borrowers not part of the First Home Loan scheme at the moment. "It means that the only time you can get an approval is if you are under contract on a property or going to auction on a specific property. It does cause a concern for first-home buyers as they cannot go to the market armed with a preapproval and this creates some nervousness for them. The key is good advice and ensuring they speak to an adviser so they know their numbers."
Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Greens claim $700m 'uncosted hole' in Budget
By Susan Edmunds of RNZ The government could face an unbudgeted hole of hundreds of millions of dollars in increased KiwiSaver contributions for public sector workers, the Green Party says. As part of the Budget last week, the government announced that the default KiwiSaver contribution for employees and employers would lift to 4 percent, in stages. But the Green Party said the government had not accounted for that increase for its own employees in its books, and over the Budget forecast period it could add up to $714 million in costs. Co-leader Chloe Swarbrick said last time the government increased the compulsory employer contribution, it set up a fund to help cover its costs. The increased cost to government as an employer was highlighted in the Budget Economic and Fiscal Update and in the KiwiSaver reforms regulatory impact statement. "What we've found is what we believe to be a hole in the government Budget, an uncosted hole of anywhere from $633m to $714m over the forecast period," Swarbrick said. "The Crown is obviously an employer of thousands and thousands of people with billions and billions of dollars in wage bills. If we're to project from the base line of around 72 percent of the population... at the default rate which is increasing, the Crown will have an increased liability to meet those employer contributions." She said the government either did not spend enough time working it out, or was "intentionally hiding or obscuring what I'm sure the minister will say are going to have to be new cuts that agencies and ministries will be forcing departments to make to account for the increased contributions". Finance Minister Nicola Willis's office said the potential cost had been noted. "Crown agencies as employers will assess the potential implications for agency budgets. If any additional funding is required, it would count against the Budget 2026 operating allowance." But Swarbrick said it was not being sufficiently upfront. She said it seemed the government did not want to be seen to be being "mean" by just halving the member tax credit, to $260 a year, and so had to increase contributions at the same time. It should have happened as part of more consultation and a full review of retirement settings, she said. "This will be an additional cost as soon as the changes come into effect." Employers who offer total remuneration packages to employees will dodge some of the increase but Swarbrick said it was clear that the government would not be able to shift people on to that arrangement to avoid the increase in a way that reduced their take-home pay. Craig Renney, policy director at the NZ Council of Trade Unions and a member of the Labour Party Policy Council, said it was an issue for the government as an employer. "It would be good to know what calculations they have made themselves as to their additional remuneration costs. Is the Crown going to force workers to eat the increase themselves? It would set a very bad example for the rest of the market." He said good employers should see the increase as an opportunity to improve employees' retirement outcomes. "The risk is that for some employers they might view the 'total remuneration' of their employees as a single package. That would mean they would expect any increase in KiwiSaver to come from the same money. That would mean lower real pay increases for employees and less cash in hand. "Given that we have very weak demand in the economy, there are probably limited opportunities for employees to get a different job - especially with unemployment forecast to keep rising. Ultimately, that would mean that the government has set up a system where employees end up paying for increased employers contributions to their own KiwiSaver. "There are some industries where there might be a simple pass-on to the consumer for these costs, but again, in a subdued market these are probably fewer than you might expect. These are probably also higher income earners, so the likelihood is that lower income earners will be more likely to face that 'total remuneration' issue. That will simply compound existing income adequacy problems in New Zealand." Employees will be able to opt to return their contribution to 3 percent, matched by an employer's 3 percent. Renney said there was a risk some people could face pressure to do so. "Again, it is likely to low paid/lower market power employee who face this challenge. Secondly, if we make it easier to become a contractor - where this is not an issue - this move will encourage employers to pretend that their employees are contractors. The current proposed changes by government in that regard might drive more of that behaviour, putting workers at a significant disadvantage."
RNZ News
7 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Is there any point joining KiwiSaver now?
RNZ's money correspondent Susan Edmunds answers your questions. Photo: RNZ Send your questions to I somehow never got around to joining KiwiSaver. When it launched, I was still paying off my student loan and only working part-time and it didn't feel as though I had the money to spare. I've kept opting out and now I wonder if I've left it too late? Is there any point me joining when I'm nearing 50? I think it always makes sense to start saving and investing if you can. You might be able to accumulate more than you expect in the next few years. Sorted's calculator says someone who is 50, earning $75,000 and starting from scratch in a growth fund contributing 4 percent plus an employer's 4 percent could have $105,043 saved at 65. If you keep working beyond that point, as an increasing number of people do, you could keep adding to your savings and investments. I think it's a really good idea for anyone who is employed to be in KiwiSaver because it's usually the only way to get your employer to help with your retirement savings. It makes sense to contribute whatever your employer is willing to match, otherwise you're leaving money on the table. We made an offer on a house that we really like and had to get a valuation as part of the home loan approval. It's come back $20,000 less than the offer we made. What can we do? There are a few things you can do. The first would be to see whether the vendor is willing to knock the price down by $20,000 so that the sale price is in line with the valuation. The second would be to see if you can negotiate with your lender to approve a loan with the new value. This is more likely to succeed if you had more deposit than the minimum required by the bank. If you had a 17 percent deposit, for example, you might be able to get them to approve the loan with a 15 percent deposit of the new value. It's worth noting that if this takes you up a step in loan-to-value ratio (LVR) above 80 percent it could mean you have to pay a higher low-equity margin or fee. If that doesn't work, you might need to cover the difference yourself, if you have the money available to you. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
