How much capital do I need to retire comfortably on ?

[Bjauck]

And what about poppies that grow tall amongst the harshest of conditions whilst having a head gardener that was a monster.

They are indeed the rich poppies that should be admired for having survived the head gardener's regime that was hostile to their particular requirements! Many other rich poppies being the beneficiaries of being in the right place at the right time as the head gardener showered the area with fertilizer and protected it with a windbreak!

[Aaron]

This thread should be renamed "the Aaron and Bjauck whinge."

Your irrational rants just sound like sour grapes. Get off your butts and get on with life rather than finding other people to blame for your inadequacies. There is an old saying that " the harder I work the luckier I get".

You are right we are a bit off topic. I blame Winner69 for this though as I now have to blame baby boomers for everything and yes I would be much better off financially working instead of posting on this site.

[Aaron]

Hey Aaron - I just got a email saying that my entitlement is going up by $5 a week from April 1st

Cool eh

You're welcome.

[Aaron]

You're welcome.

Maybe I should have said.

"I know you’d do the same for me."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-g...b_4270340.html

[h2so4]

You are right we are a bit off topic. I blame Winner69 for this though as I now have to blame baby boomers for everything .

Yes and everyone on here knows it. So all your posts up to this point have been counterproductive to whatever it was you were hoping to achieve.

[Aaron]

Sorry can't help myself.
The "Productivity Commission" has come up with a report on tertiary education and I will disclaim now I have not read anywhere near the 527 pages but am only focusing on the bit that bugs me the most. They might actually have some good suggestions in amongst it all.
http://www.productivity.govt.nz/site...%20FINAL_1.pdf
Page 452 Charge interest on the loans R15.1 I would suggest they also charge previous students for their course costs where they did not pay. Inflation adjusted of course and if this creates an unexpected burden on baby boomer and generation x graduates then they should be offered student loans to cover it at interest rates suggested by the productivity commission. As we all know graduates from university on average have higher earnings it would be good to see some of the older generation mucking in with the youth of today to ensure a prosperous country and a more viable tertiary sector.
R15.2 suggests if interest rates remain at zero then they shouldn't be but should match inflation as inflation is stealing about 40cents in the dollar by the time students pay it back. Savers would know how this feels. My suggestion would be to have the reserve bank be responsible for price stability instead of price instability give them an inflation target of 0% plus or minus 1.5%.

Look at the members of the productivity commission waaaay to many economists. I don't like the idea of Bachelor of Arts graduates deciding how everyone should live in light of where the world is currently. Some of our problems stem from economic theories that might be about to hit their limits.

To relate this post back to the thread topic I would suggest that the money recovered from Boomers and Xers be put into the Cullen Fund to help ensure nz super is affordable.

[Bjauck]

I don't agree with retrospective legislation - it seems contrary to the fair application of the rule of law. All those who enjoyed free tertiary education should not be retrospectively charged. However, they should accept that tax cuts and sufficient retirement cost and retirement health funding are incompatible.

[Aaron]

I thought this was interesting but hope this thread doesn't crowd out the one about "Useful Websites" I am interested to see what is available online especially free sites.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/mone...g-are-feckless

[Aaron]

I appreciate this isn't really a thread on nz superannuation but..

Election year this year last election Labour had compulsory kiwisaver, raising the age of entitlement, capital gains tax. Good policy in my opinion but got slaughtered at the polling booth. Much watered down policy this time around. Will be interesting to see how they do. nz superannuation still not an issue.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/university...ectid=11883593

This guy is not proposing solutions just pointing out the obvious. Interesting that the average kiwi dies not contributing anything to society as a whole through income tax.
I guess if the average boomer wants to contribute nothing then the next generation might have to do the heavy lifting.
Also interesting that worldwide only NZers are so greedy that nz super remains universal so that welfare is going to those not in need.

[macduffy]

As you say, just pointing out the obvious. It's also obvious that income tax isn't the only source of funding for NZ Super - many taxpayers contribute more through GST than income tax. Also obvious that the the bulk of income tax has always been paid by a minority of taxpayers - hence that "average Kiwi" is a mythical creature, taxwise. Obvious too, that NZ Super wasn't designed as a welfare benefit but as a universal payment. Needless to add, I didn't find that article very enlightening.