Kia ora koutou and welcome to our quarterly update.
The first quarter of our new financial year has flown by, with lots of great activity happening across the sectors we work in and within our team at Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission. The end of the year being just around the corner, I wanted to share some of the key highlights of the past few months, including the upcoming launch of the National Strategy for Financial Capability 2025 – 2027.
I was thrilled to see so many of our partners getting involved with Sorted Money Month in August. Many of us are in the business of talking about money all year round, so it’s great to dedicate a full month to rally around a unified message, in this case ‘Pause. Get sorted’. Thanks to all who took part – I hope to see even more involved next August!
Our Policy and Research team has continued to produce insightful reports on key retirement matters so that good data is widely accessible. We’ve delved into whether home equity release products provide value for money and how prepared the private rental sector is for an ageing population. We’ve also continued to engage with the financial services sector around our recommendations for improving KiwiSaver, following the release of a comprehensive analysis of current KiwiSaver settings and what we’d like to see changed.
In September, we appeared before the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee for a briefing on our 2022/23 annual report. While sharing those annual highlights, I focused on NZ Super issues and reinforced the benefit for policy stability that a cross-party consensus on retirement policies would provide. We’re appearing before the Committee again in December, to cover our 2023/2024 annual report, and I’ll focus on KiwiSaver matters at that hearing.
I’m also pleased that the review of the Retirement Villages Act, which I’ve been advocating for since 2020, will continue. There are longstanding issues that need to be resolved via a holistic look at the system. Changes will ultimately be good not only for the residents, but also for those in the industry. I hope for a speedy resolution to modernise the current legislation and add consumer protections for residents.
I’m looking forward to seeing many of you at the launch of the new National Strategy for Financial Capability in Auckland on 19 November. If you’ve not received an invitation, please do contact us or register below. The strategy has been a powerful tool for connecting work across the sector, helping to share knowledge and agree on priorities. In short, if we collectively agree on the important areas to address, our combined impact will be much stronger and New Zealanders will benefit.
My team has continued to refine and stress-test the many ideas generated during the National Strategy Conference in May. More than 45 partners have helped us land a robust three-year action plan. My personal thanks to the organisations that have put their hand up to lead one of the 20-plus initiatives.
We’ve been doing some work in the background relating to financial education in schools and looking for ways to better join up sector activity. It was good to join a meeting with representatives from financial education providers convened by Minister Bayly to discuss what more can be done to ensure our children and young people are learning critical money concepts during their school years.
That’s just a snapshot of what we’ve been up to. Read on for more detail and other highlights.
Jane.
People news
Meet our new Stakeholder Lead
We’re delighted to welcome Kate Hannah on board as our new Stakeholder Lead. Kate has previously been a consultant in the public and private sectors, in strategic communications, social inclusion and the role of the internet. She’s passionate about how systems can work to lift people’s ability to thrive and contribute, and has hit the ground running to bring the new National Strategy to life.
National Strategy for Financial Capability
2025 – 2027 strategy launch
It’s very exciting to be nearing the launch of the next National Strategy for Financial Capability 2025 – 2027, which is set to take place on 19 November. The team has been busy engaging across the sector to test ideas and initiatives with more than 45 National Strategy partners and identify who’ll lead activity. A big thank you to those who have made the time to collaborate on this important mahi. We’ll fill you in on how far things have progressed since we workshopped concepts at the National Strategy Conference in May.
If you haven’t yet registered to join us from 8am at Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s Maritime Room, you can do so below.
Measuring impact: A shared measurement tool for financial wellbeing
A consistent way to measure the impact of financial capability interventions and programmes allows those working to improve financial wellbeing to celebrate successes, share findings, and better understand what works so providers can continuously improve services. It also gives solid evidence to help underpin campaigns, research and policy.
Measuring the impact of this work is notoriously hard. In the absence of such a framework, we set out to develop one, reviewing 90 global research papers on financial capability and wellbeing measurement, and conducting more than 20 interviews with local financial capability providers. After further consultation with National Strategy partners earlier this year, our tool for measuring 10 financial wellbeing outcomes went live in September.
Thank you very much for your feedback during the development stage of this project. We already have a number of partners building the tool into their programmes, and welcome more. Please submit your questions and feedback as you proceed with using the tool to assist you in your work. Click here to do so and to learn more.
Latest research
Landlords and ageing tenants
In August, we released research highlighting the preparedness of New Zealand landlords and property management companies for the growing number of ageing tenants in the private rental sector. Based on a survey of 709 landlords, and in-depth interviews with eight property management companies and nine build-to-rent operators, the report provides insights into the demographics, behaviours, attitudes and considerations related to older tenants in the rental market.
A recent estimate by Te Ara Ahunga Ora based on current housing tenure trends suggests more than 600,000 New Zealanders aged 65 and over may be renting in the private rental sector by 2048, a 100% increase on 2022. The findings from the research indicates that the private rental sector is unlikely to provide sufficient accessible housing to meet this growing demand. You’ll find a round-up of the key findings and the full report here.
Retired households and home equity
We commissioned Motu Research to consider whether home equity release schemes provide value for money and if they might provide a suitable way to add to retirement income for some people. The results of the research released in September showed they could be a better option for older New Zealanders struggling to make ends meet than the commonly used alternatives. For approximately 25% of older households who have low retirement income and savings but high levels of equity in their home, equity release products could be more beneficial than high-cost personal loans or credit cards.
Our Policy Lead, Dr Michelle Reyers, says although home equity release products appear to be more expensive in Aotearoa than in larger markets, they can provide an alternative source of income that’s less costly than other forms of consumption-based lending. Have a quick listen to her interview with Kathryn Ryan on Radio New Zealand’s Nine To Noon.
How New Zealanders are feeling financially
Research agency TRA joins us to survey 3000 New Zealanders a year on a range of money matters. Released in August as part of Sorted Money Month, the latest data on how people are feeling financially revealed that despite more than half describing their position as uncomfortable, they’re still actively saving for retirement.
Te Ara Ahunga Ora’s Personal Finance Lead, Tom Hartmann, says, “Although it’s quite concerning to see so many New Zealanders struggling financially, it’s good to see those who manage to still actively save for the long term. Unfortunately, although we are seeing some positive money habits, we do still have half of the population not actively saving for the long term.”
Click here for the illuminating data and here for the full report.
The psychology of saving
Find out what elephants have to do with saving in a fascinating paper newly published in the New Zealand Research and Insights section of our Shared Resource Hub, in full (‘Mind over money’) and bite-sized (‘Saving insights’) formats. If you’ve not joined the hub, sign up now to gain access.
Written by our Financial Research Specialist Ben King to inform and enhance savings strategies and initiatives developed by professionals in the financial capability sector, the paper is a fascinating exploration of the main psychological concepts that affect saving decisions, helpfully concluding with a round-up of initiatives and programmes that have used psychological insights to achieve positive results.
What’s new for sorted.org.nz
Sorted Money Month
In August, Money Month once again proved to be a highlight of the annual calendar. This year, the mood was lightened during tough times by tongue-in-cheek creative and an online ‘excuse generator’ designed by award-winning agency Motion Sickness, which urged New Zealanders to make excuses to ‘Pause. Get sorted’ and share them on social media.
As well as meaningfully supporting thousands of people to make time to make the most of their money, the public awareness campaign significantly boosted Sorted’s brand awareness through earned and paid media coverage. Billboard, TV, digital and social media, plus podcast appearances, helped us to reach hundreds of thousands overall to communicate our message that free financial education and wellbeing is within reach for everyone.
Engagement from our National Strategy partners during Money Month was exceptional:
- 83 partners participated in Sorted Money Month 2024
- Use of our Money Month toolkit resources more than doubled, with 2289 downloads
- 50 partners hosted their own Money Month events locally and online. These included the 15 recipients of the 2024 Community Fund, which provided grants of up to $1000 for community groups wishing to run related programmes and events during August. A total of $10,000 was made available, $5000 of which was dedicated to projects intended to improve the financial wellbeing of women, thanks to a grant made by the former Women in Super.
We also ran five webinars, covering saving, investing, insurance, debt and protecting what’s important. The live, interactive, weekly lunchtime sessions were attended by nearly 1000 people, and 96% of survey respondents subsequently expressed trust in the information provided in the webinars and greater confidence in managing their finances.
Sorted x The Morning Shift
Our popular partnership with The Morning Shift podcast, ‘Sussed, Sorted, Shifting’, is underway again, producing five new podcasts for this series. The first two episodes are now live, the first placing the focus on how to talk to kids about money and the second on sensibly navigating the silly season to avoid unnecessary debt. We continue to see strong listenership, with the first podcast downloaded more than 13,000 times.
Sorted at Work
Actioning feedback gathered through our Sorted at Work facilitators’ day in June, significant enhancements have now been made to the Sorted at Work facilitator directory. This helpful resource allows workplaces to select their own facilitator and book courses, seminars and webinars to be delivered in person and online to staff around the motu.
We’re also very happy to have Sumita Paul and Charlie Charlie join the team of highly skilled educators. Certified financial planner Sumita comes via her work at Athena Wealth, and Charlie in conjunction with his work at Skills Update.
Sorted in Communities
More positive news: we've exceeded our goal of reaching 1200 Pacific households through our Pacific Peoples Pathways to Homeownership programme within three years. We’re now continuing to offer the programme to additional households for the remainder of the year – and using our new shared measurement tool to track progress. Special thanks to the Ministry for Pacific Peoples for supporting this programme over the years, and to Skills Update for excelling at delivering it on our behalf.
Te whai hua – kia ora, Sorted in Schools
Another partnership has been full steam ahead, this one with Inland Revenue and School Kit to create innovative learning resources to teach high school students about money as part of our Te whai hua – kia ora, Sorted in Schools programme in secondary schools and kura.
The newly designed interactive resource packs – Dear 13-Year-Old Me, on compound interest; and Part of Something Bigger, about tax – will be sent to around 13,000 Year 9 and 10 students throughout Aotearoa over the next 12 months. A blend of digital and physical resources that also encourage the use of the practical tools available on the Sorted website, the kits can be incorporated into a variety of subjects, including English, maths, and business and social studies.
More than 300 resources, designed by teachers for teachers, are already available through sortedinschools.org.nz, plus we deliver free professional development workshops and webinars to help teachers feel confident to teach financial material as well.
Retirement villages
The Retirement Commissioner has continued to advocate for the review of the Retirement Villages Act, delivering her call to action at the recent Retirement Villages Residents AGM and the RVA Conference. We were pleased to see the Government’s announcement that the review will continue.
The Government is taking a more focused approach to the review, including considering three priority areas relating to:
- The maintenance and repairs of operator-owned chattels and fixtures
- Managing complaints and disputes
- Options for incentivising or requiring earlier capital repayment when residents move out of a village.
Read the Commissioner’s entire speech at the RVA conference here.
Key dates
Launch of the 2025 – 2027 National Strategy for Financial Capability
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, November 19, 2024