Membership | Christian Kiwisaver Scheme

Care and compassion in action: Christian KiwiSaver Scheme partners with Debtfix

by Jamuel Enriquez | 2 Aug, 2023 | General, KiwiSaver, Membership

In a significant step towards supporting the financial well-being of our members, Christian KiwiSaver Scheme is proud to announce its partnership with Debtfix – an organisation dedicated to reducing debt here in New Zealand.

Debtfix offers managed processes that fix debt and help people control their finances. Our partnership with Debtfix aims to provide our members with valuable resources and, more importantly, allows us to enact our value of care and compassion to those in need.

Debt and budgeting issues have become increasingly prevalent in today’s fast-paced and uncertain economic landscape. Many New Zealanders struggle with mounting debts, loans, and general difficulty in budgeting.

Such financial challenges can have a profound impact on the ability to save for retirement and achieve other long-term financial goals. Recognising these challenges, we have sought to partner with Debtfix to help some of our members who may be experiencing these challenges.

Key Benefits of the Partnership

1. Debt Management Expertise: Debtfix brings experience and expertise in managing debt which includes working with creditors, banks, finance companies, courts and anyone else on your behalf. You won’t have to worry about dealing with several organisations. Through this collaboration with Debtfix, Christian KiwiSaver Scheme members can access personalised debt support and strategies to reduce their financial burdens.

2. Budgeting: An essential aspect of achieving financial stability is budgeting. Even if you are not in debt, having a simple budget can help you understand where your money is going – which can help you create and achieve your financial goals. Debtfix offers a budgeting service tailored to each individual’s unique financial situation, helping them better manage their income, expenses, and savings.

3. KiwiSaver Significant Financial Hardship Facilitator: In this partnership, Debtfix allows us to achieve better outcomes for members who have to make a KiwiSaver withdrawal due to Significant Financial Hardship. Not only will Debtfix help facilitate the withdrawal process, but they will also be able to provide more comprehensive support with their debt and finance expertise for those members experiencing significant financial hardship.

4. Proven experience with real people: Talking about finances with another person can be a really sensitive and difficult conversation – let alone talking about debt. Debtfix has experience working with people experiencing debt, and they also have some great stories of helping people through their financial challenges and burdens. To have a look at what some of their clients have said about them, take a look at their website: https://www.debtfix.co.nz/what-our-clients-say

This collaboration between Christian KiwiSaver Scheme and Debtfix is an exciting opportunity for us to help our members and put our values into action. We hope this partnership enables our members to take control of their finances, overcome debt challenges, and maximise the potential of their KiwiSaver investments.

Debtfix’s services are absolutely free for Christian KiwiSaver Scheme members. If you are interested in using their service or if you would like to make an inquiry, please email us at info@christiankiwisaver.nz

If you would like more information about Debtfix, please visit their website https://www.debtfix.co.nz/

Get your free retirement planning guide

by Jamuel Enriquez | 2 Aug, 2023 | General, Life after 65, Membership

Have you started thinking about your retirement plan? If you are reading this, congratulations! You might be taking your first small steps to consider what retirement might look like. No matter how far away retirement may feel, getting started is always a good idea, no matter how small the step.

The Financial Services Council (FSC) has recently published its Retirement Planning Guide, a comprehensive resource to help you navigate the path towards a secure retirement. Whether you are just starting your career or nearing retirement age, this guide offers valuable insights and tools to plan your retirement effectively.

The FSC is a non-profit member organisation with a vision to grow the financial confidence and wellbeing of New Zealanders.

While retirement is a significant milestone, it may feel like there is time to put off planning for it until later. Retirement requires careful planning; the earlier you plan for it, the more time you allow yourself to reach your goals. Good retirement planning may mean helping you achieve the lifestyle you want to live without exhausting your savings.

This guide helps you think about retirement planning by outlining two critical considerations: how much to save for retirement and how much you can reasonably spend during your retirement years. It then explains key concepts and provides valuable tools for this planning process.

To view and download the FSC’s Retirement Planning Guide click here.

Please note:

This Retirement Planning Guide is general information only. The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the FSC. It is not intended to constitute legal or financial advice and does not take your individual circumstances and financial situation into account. We encourage you to seek assistance from a trusted financial adviser, legal or other professional advice.

The names of any third parties are additional resources that you access at your own risk and the FSC takes no responsibility for any third party content.

The FSC and its employees make no express or implied representations or give any warranties regarding this guide, and we accept no responsibility for any loss, damage, cost or expense (whether direct or indirect) incurred by you as a result of any error, omission or misrepresentation in this guide.

AML requirements update

by Jamuel Enriquez | 7 Feb, 2023 | General, KiwiSaver, Membership

We continue updating our customer records for Anti Money Laundering (AML) purposes

We want to say a big thank you to those customers who we have contacted and who have returned their completed consent form for electronic identity verification purposes, so that we can update your details for our compliance with anti-money laundering requirements. If we haven’t contacted you then you don’t need to do anything, your information is up-to-date!

We now have more than 70% of the consents that we need so that we can check whether or not you are a politically exposed person. This is a great result, and we are on track with updating our customer records. Paul has joined our member services team and the team will continue to follow up with those customers who we need consents from. Alternatively, if you haven’t already, you can provide your consent to electronic identity verification in any of the following ways:

through the Christian KiwiSaver Scheme website – this form of consent is online, so it is still a quick and simple way to complete the consent form. You can go direct to the website, or click the link to that form here: https://christiankiwisaver.nz/AMLConsent/
through your member portal – you can login to your account and find the link to the consent form on your dashboard. You can login here: https://christiankiwisaver.nz/login/ (if you need help logging in please email or call us)
by signing and dating a hard copy consent form – we can either email or post you a consent form (and you can post it or scan it back to us). Please email us or call us if you would prefer to provide your consent this way.

One final request from us is that if you have moved address or changed your phone number or email address, could you please let us know? If so, our friendly member services staff can update your records for you.

Thank you for your assistance with this – we have greatly appreciated the understanding and positive response to date.

What type of investor are you?

by Amit | 31 Jan, 2019 | Investment, KiwiSaver, Life after 65, Membership

Being in the investment fund that best suits you is very important. Not knowing can cost you money if you make decisions that are a reaction to investment markets (e.g. a negative return) rather than a change in your personal circumstances or your feelings about risk.

Changes in the investment markets don’t change your investor type, changes in your personal circumstances are what influences your investor type.

You can also have more than one investor type (this can also be called your ‘investor profile’) depending on your personal investment goals. Confused? The Sorted website has some good information on it to explain how you can work this out and decide which type of Fund may best suit you. You can sign up on the Sorted site and save your personalised findings.

Sorted also has a personality quiz where you can find out if you’re a money maestro, practical domestic, authentic dreamer, money mechanic or one of the 12 other types.

Keep in mind that your investor type is not a description of you (people who are adrenaline junkies can be conservative where their money is concerned!). Your investor type is a measure of your financial circumstances, your personality, the timeframe you have to invest, and most importantly, how much risk you feel comfortable taking or can afford to take. The higher the returns you chase, the more you need to accept risk and run the chance that your investments will fluctuate in value or lose value.

Sorted has suggested the following attributes for various investor types.

We offer three distinct investment funds within the Christian KiwiSaver Scheme – the Income Fund, Balanced Fund and Growth Fund. This gives our members access to a good range of investment options, according to their particular circumstances. Members can invest in more than one of these Funds. This means each member can fashion an investment selection that suits the type of investor they are, and it can be changed at any time in the future.

Changes in the investment markets don’t change your investor type, changes in your personal circumstance are what influences your investor profile/type.

No fees for members under age 18

by Amit | 4 Dec, 2018 | Membership

We are helping those under 18 get a start with their longer-term savings. We’re introducing a change from 1 January 2019 where Christian KiwiSaver Scheme members under age 18 will not have fees deducted from the quarterly investment earnings allocated to their account if they are under age 18 on the first day of that quarter (i.e. on 1 April, 1 July, 1 October or 1 January, as applicable).

KiwiSaver gives the self-employed great options

by Jo Cheramie | 26 Jul, 2018 | General, KiwiSaver, Membership

If you’re self-employed then KiwiSaver provides a handy and cost-effective option to save for retirement. If you know someone who is self-employed then tell them, your friends and your family about Christian KiwiSaver Scheme, a KiwiSaver scheme for Christians that reflects Christian values and is founded on ethical and responsible investment principles. Send them a link to this article.

You don’t have to be in paid employment to join, it’s open to:

workers who are self-employed
those not in paid employment
students
children.

Self-employed people have great options:

They can choose the amount they save in KiwiSaver
They can make contributions on a regular basis or lump sum payments every so often
They choose their KiwiSaver scheme (pick ours!)
They are entitled to the government’s annual contribution of up to $1,042.86
They are entitled to all of the other KiwiSaver benefits.

It’s never too late or too early to start but the earlier saving starts the better off the saver is likely to be. Saving a little over a long time has proven to be a really good option.