Frequently Asked Questions

kiwiSTART® is available as a workplace retirement savings scheme. Anyone under the age of eligibility for New Zealand Superannuation (currently 65), who is living in New Zealand (with some exceptions) and who is either a New Zealand citizen or entitled to live in New Zealand indefinitely is eligible to open a kiwiSTART® account.

Click here for information on KiwiSaver.

The minimum contribution rate for employees is currently set at 2% of before- tax salary or wages (that means total salary, including bonuses, commission, extra salary and overtime). Alternatively you can choose to save 4% or 8%. kiwiSTART® members can make one-off lump sum payments any time, directly through Craigs Investment Partners or IRD.

The Government has announced a proposal in the 2011 Budget that the minimum employee contribution rate will rise from 2% to 3% with effect from 1 April 2013. This would also be the default contribution rate. Find out more

Yes, the maximum level of regular contribution via PAYE is 8% of your pre-tax earnings. In order to make additional contributions, members can pay these directly to your kiwiSTART® account via Craigs Investment Partners.

We strongly recommend that you seek investment advice prior to any decision to contribute more than 2% of your earnings.

You can choose from our range of risk based Investment Options (which correspond to our Defined Portfolios Unit Trusts) that best suit your risk profile. In addition, you can create your own Portfolio by selecting your investments from more than 100 of Craigs Investment Partners nominated Australasian and Global securities. Before making an investment decision, we recommend you discuss your options with your Investment Adviser.

Further details can be found in our kiwiSTART® Select and kiwiSTART® Defined Investment Statements.

Returns from kiwiSTART® will usually not be accessible to you until you reach the age of 65 or have been a member of a KiwiSaver scheme for 5 years (whichever is later). The key factors that may determine your returns include:

• the value of your kiwiSTART® account as at the date a permitted withdrawal is made;
• how much of your member employer kiwiSTART® account is vested in you (if applicable);
• fees; and
• tax.

The value of your kiwiSTART® account may be affected by:

• changes in the investment markets;
• movements in interest rates;
• currency exchange rates; and
• political and other economic events.

No amount of returns is promised or guaranteed.

The Government has offered a number of benefits including:

• A one-off, $1,000 lump sum contribution (kick-start) into your scheme member’s account when you join your first KiwiSaver scheme*
• Employer Superannuation Contribution Tax exemption*
• A tax credit of up to $521.43 p.a.*
• First home purchase assistance*

The Government has announced a proposal in the 2011 Budget which would involve changes to KiwiSaver. Find out more

* Subject to satisfying certain eligibility criteria.

If you change jobs your KiwiSaver contributions will continue via your new employer. Your employee contribution rate will default to the 2% rate unless you notify your new employer that you wish to contribute at the 4% or 8% rate. If you become self-employed or leave paid employment, you can make contributions directly  through Craigs Investment Partners Limited.

The Government has announced a proposal in the 2011 Budget which would involve changes to KiwiSaver. Find out more

As kiwiSTART® has been set up under the KiwiSaver Act to help you save for your retirement, you cannot withdraw funds from your kiwiSTART® accounts until you become eligible to make a withdrawal.

Your kiwiSTART® funds (including the $1000 kick-start and any member tax credits) will be available to you when you reach the age of entitlement to New Zealand Superannuation (currently 65), or when you have been a member of a KiwiSaver scheme for five years, whichever is the later. 

Earlier access may be provided in the event of:

• Death
• Significant financial hardship (excludes tax credits and Government kick-start payment)
• Serious illness
• First home purchase (excludes tax credits and Government kick-start payment)
• Emigration (excludes tax credits. Member tax credits are automatically repaid to the Government)

Further details can be found in our kiwiSTART® Investment Statements.

Fees are competitive and consist of the following:

Administration Fee
An administration fee of up to $60 per annum will be deducted from your kiwiSTART® account.

A Custodial Service Fee
A per annum fee of up to 1.25% of the value of all your kiwiSTART® accounts is charged to cover the cost of maintaining your Account, processing contributions and withdrawals, receiving and actioning correspondence and preparing account statements and includes the management fee. The level of the custodial service fee will vary according to your portfolio selection:

• Fixed Interest or Conservative Fund 0.75%
• Balanced Fund 1.00%
• Balanced SRI Fund, Growth Fund, Equity Fund or Self-selected Portfolio 1.25%

A Management Fee
There is no management fee charged within the kiwiSTART schemes. Where the kiwiSTART Scheme invests in a unit trust which is managed by CIPIML and which has the Trustee as the trustee (as is the case with the Defined Portfolios Unit Trusts), the management fee replaces the custodial service fee and no custodial service fee is charged to your kiwiSTART Account. Instead, the Scheme will be charged a management fee within the unit trust for management and trustee services which will have a corresponding effect on the value of the relevant investments in your kiwiSTART® Select Accounts.

A per annum fee of up to 1.25% of the value of any investment in the Defined Portfolios Unit Trusts is charged to cover the cost of maintaining the investment in the Unit Trust, processing purchases and sales, receiving and actioning correspondence and preparing account statements . The level of the management fee will vary according to the Defined Portfolios Unit Trusts selected:

• Fixed Interest or Conservative Fund 0.75%
• Balanced Fund 1.00%
• Balanced SRI Fund, Growth Fund, Equity Fund or Self-selected Portfolio 1.25%

In each case based on the value of each fund within the Scheme, with a corresponding effect on the value of those investments in your kiwiSTART® Select Accounts.

Please refer to the kiwiSTART Select and kiwiSTART Defined Investment Statements for further information.

A fee may be charged if you switch investments or amend your investment direction more than once during a scheme year (1 April - 31 March). Currently no fee is charged.

There are no other fees charged to you with kiwiSTART®, however the Trustee reserves the right to change the above fees from time to time. Further details on all fees are available in the kiwiSTART® Investment Statements. Note that where you select a Defined Portfolio Investment Option within the scheme, this is currently invested in the Defined Portfolios Unit Trust, a unit trust managed by Craigs Investment Partners Investment Management Limited (CIPIML). Where CIPIML is entitled to charge fees in relation to that investment as manager of the unit trust the custodial service fee will not be charged separately in relation to that investment. Please see the Investment Statements for further details.

kiwiSTART® is:

• Under-pinned by trust deeds 
• Regulated by the Financial Markets Authority
• Monitored by an independent trustee. The New Zealand Guardian Trust Company Limited has been appointed as Trustee of the schemes
• The Trustee has appointed Craigs Investment Partners Superannuation Management Limited as the administration and investment manager
• Subject to regular scrutiny to ensure that trust rules are strictly followed

kiwiSTART® Select and kiwiSTART® Defined are both KiwiSaver-compliant personal superannuation schemes provided by Craigs Investment Partners. kiwiSTART® Defined is constructed as a Portfolio Investment Entity (PIE) offering a range of risk based Investment Options which correspond to our Defined Portfolios Unit Trusts, and is a more tax efficient option for those with a marginal tax rate of 10.5% or 17.5%.

kiwiSTART® Select offers you the opportunity to create your own portfolio from more than 100 of Craigs Investment Partners’ nominated securities, or choose from our range of risk based Investment Options which correspond to our Defined Portfolios Unit Trusts, to suit your risk profile. kiwiSTART® Select is not a PIE. Under current taxation law the earnings of kiwiSTART® Select are taxable to the Trustee at 28% and its benefits are paid tax-free to members.

Both solutions are based on our successful mySTART® investing service.

Please refer to the kiwiSTART® Defined Investment Statement or the kiwiSTART® Select Investment Statement for further information.

Go to Superannuation Comparison Table

Balanced SRI Fund explanatory statement

The Balanced SRI Fund is one of eight Defined Portfolio Unit Trusts.

The objective of the Balanced SRI Fund is to grow the value of unitholders’ capital, relative to inflation, over the medium to long term. The fund will generally hold a diversified portfolio of growth and income assets.

The Balanced SRI Fund is a unit trust which has been developed and is managed by Craigs Investment Partners Investment Management Limited (CIPIML) a wholly owned subsidiary of Craigs Investment Partners Limited.

Philosophy
The guiding philosophy of the Balanced SRI Fund is to endeavour to hold a diversified portfolio of investments that the manager considers to be environmentally and socially responsible, whilst still applying Craigs Investment Partners’ traditional portfolio investment criteria.

Currently, the manager does not actively screen for investments for the Balanced SRI Fund that have positive or negative governance practices. However, this consideration is taken into account in the overall assessment of the financial viability of an investment.

In selecting individual shares, funds and other investments for the Balanced SRI Fund to invest into, the manager will use a combination of positive and negative screening criteria. The criteria adopted will change over time as standards relating to corporate reporting and accountability and codes of conduct advance.

Negative screens
The manager will use its best endeavours to ensure that the Balanced SRI Fund will NOT be invested in companies engaging in the following activities:

• Tobacco
• Alcohol
• Gambling
• Armaments
• Pornography
• Nuclear weapons and the nuclear power industry

The manager will also use its best endeavours, using publicly available information (including annual reports issued by investment companies), social responsibility indices compiled by independent market observers (e.g. FTSE4Good industry series), along with any additional information from our in-house research resources, to ensure that no investment within the fund is engaged in poor labour practices, cruelty to animals, or excessive environmental pollution. No formal definition, criteria or weightings are used in assessing these elements and each investment is screened separately.

Positive screens
Companies that will be considered are those that in the view of the manager:

• Make a positive social contribution
• Seek to minimise adverse environmental effects from their operations
• Have strong governance practices, ethical standards and track records
• Embrace triple bottom line reporting

The manager will use its best endeavours, using publicly available information (including annual reports issued by investment companies), along with any additional information from our in-house research resources, to ensure that investments within the fund do meet these criteria. There are no pre-determined relative weightings to these criteria. Available investments within this fund must meet Craigs Investment Partners Limited's existing investment selection criteria.

In a practical sense, for international equity investments, managed fund and index funds, the manager will primarily focus on:

• Companies that are members of recognised SRI indices such as the FTSE4GOOD index or the KLD Social Index
• Managed funds that invest on an SRI basis, employing positive and/or negative screens
• Exchange-traded funds based on an SRI index

In the event that a stock included within the fund is found to be in breach of the fund’s investment criteria, that holding will be divested as soon as practicable, and for the best price practically achievable.

The perception of the ethics of a company or industry can change from investor to investor, as well as over time. The manager aims to keep abreast of new technology and trends, as well as changes in public opinion, and will adapt as required. The manager retains the right to invest in companies that, at first glance, may not appear to fit the above criteria if it deems that the negative effects of the company are outweighed by the positive.

Craigs Investment Partners' research team constantly monitors companies within the Balanced SRI Fund and recommends adjusting holdings on a needs basis. The Balanced SRI Fund is formally reviewed every 6 months.

For further information please refer to the Defined Portfolio Investment Statement available on this website.

View our Tax Resources page to find out more about PIR.

Please view the pdf to help identify your PIR from 1 October 2010 - click here.

Please contact your Investment Adviser for guidance.

Craigs Investment Partners is not tax a specialist and we recommend you confirm your PIR with the Inland Revenue Department. All statements in relation to taxation are of a general nature only and are based on current tax legislation as at 1 October 2010. That legislation may change. The impact of taxation will vary depending upon each person’s individual circumstances.

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