John MacDonald: We're not going far enough with superannuation changes - Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald

Quite a well-known chief executive and finance guy told me once that, in business, you should always make use of other people’s money first.

Which is exactly what the Government is doing with the KiwiSaver changes announced in yesterday’s budget.

It wants more of our money going in from our wages and salaries and less of its money going in through government contributions. Although, that’s our money too when it comes down to it.

But the gist is, the minimum contributions are going to increase from 3 percent to 4 percent and the bit the Government chips in each year is halving - from a maximum of $520 to a maximum of $260.

The change in what we pay-in to our KiwiSaver is going to be somewhat gradual. From April 1 next year, the rate will shift to 3.5 percent, before increasing again in April 2028 to 4 per cent.

But if you’re earning more than $180,000 a year, there’ll be some changes coming sooner. You’ll have no government money at all going into your KiwiSaver from July this year.

Read more