Nominations for the FSC industry awards open

The Financial Services Council (FSC) has opened entries for their 2025 Awards programme. The awards will be presented at the FSC Awards Dinner on 11 September 2025, at the Cordis Hotel in Auckland, as part of the FSC25 Conference. Entries are open to individuals, teams and organisations, with nominations closing 29 June 2025.

There are two new award categories this year.

• New: Innovation of the Year

• New: Excellence in ESG

• Emerging Trailblazer: sponsored by Swiss Re

• Excellence in Wellbeing and Inclusion: sponsored by Swiss Re

• Contribution to Community

• Team of the Year

• Workplace Savings

• Chair's Award for Service to the Industry

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Bigger not necessarily best when it comes to KiwiSaver

Consumer NZ has taken a look at how KiwiSaver is going. Big banks, with their brand recognition and big budgets, have long been an almost default choice for people deciding who to invest their KiwiSaver funds with. That looks like it’s starting to change. Encouragingly, 29% of new members chose their KiwiSaver scheme independently, and 8% consulted a financial adviser about what their best option would be, though 14% were automatically allocated a default scheme. There is still some reluctance to change providers, with 12% of people feeling it’s too much hassle to change provider, 8% having thought about switching but haven’t gotten around to it and 5% not knowing where to start.

With more than 3.3 million members and more than $111 billion of total funds under management, it’s worth putting in a little effort to see which fund best suits your situation.

While banks in general are big spenders on advertising, ANZ outspends them all. Yet ANZ’s KiwiSaver returns are underwhelming, coming in last (12th) for its management of conservative KiwiSaver funds, 6th (out of 12) for moderate funds, second to last (out of 15) for balanced funds and 10th (out of 12) for growth funds, according to Morningstar’s December 2024 results. Yet ANZ holds the largest share of the KiwiSaver market, with $21.9 billion funds under management.

As of 2021, ANZ and ASB are no longer default KiwiSaver providers, leaving BT Funds (Westpac) and BNZ as the only default big bank providers for new members. It will be interesting to see how this impacts the various banks’ KiwiSaver market share over the next decade or two.

In good news, Consumers NZ’s annual survey on KiwiSaver satisfaction highlights growing satisfaction, with February 2025 results showing 82% were satisfied with their provider.

And what do people most want from their KiwiSaver provider? Good returns with responsible investments came out top (42%), followed by the best returns (37%) and investing responsibly, even if it comes with slightly lower returns (14%)

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Report finds increasingly, pregnant people are presenting for care with no, or minimal, antenatal care

Fidelity Life offers drought-affected customers premium relief

Fidelity Life has announced they will offer drought-affected Northland, Waikato, King Country, Horizons (Manawatū-Wanganui) and Marlborough-Tasman customers premium relief. Fidelity Life customers who are facing financial hardship as a direct result of the drought in these regions who are eligible can apply to have their premiums temporarily waived for up to 3-months, with the potential to extend for up to a further 3-months, without affecting their insurance protection. 

Fidelity Life’s Chief Commercial Officer Bronwyn Kirwan said

“We recognise how tough it’s been for these regions as the dry weather continues and we want to show our support in a meaningful way. Our premium relief offer is a way we’re trying to help ease the burden and be there for our customers when they need us most.”

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Report finds majority of investors expect KiwiSaver and other managed fund providers to invest their funds ethically and responsibly

Australian Super funds stung with coordinated cyber-attack

AML Summit 2025 runs from 8 – 9 May in Auckland

Unimed CEO to step down

UniMed has announced that CEO Louise Zacest will be stepping down at the end of March. UniMed Chair Peter Tynan said the organisation was deeply grateful for Louise’s leadership over the past four years.

“Under her guidance, UniMed has become New Zealand’s third largest health insurer, expanded into health & safety and mental wellbeing, and significantly strengthened its internal capabilities.”

Lynne Hayman has been appointed as interim CEO, for the period 31 March to 31 October 2025, while a recruitment process for a new CEO is undertaken. Hayman joined UniMed late last year as Interim Chief Operating Officer.

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Fidelity Life's A- (Excellent) financial strength rating affirmed by AM Best

AIA NZ is recruiting for a new head of investments

AIA Group delivered US$6,605 million OPAT in the year ended 31 December 2024.

PPS Mutual is preparing to launch in New Zealand

The FMA contractor budget more than $13 million over the 2023/24 reporting year

nib release launch date for Ultimate Life & Living

nib Ultimate Life & Living will launch on 28 March 2025. Details of the suite of products were released at nib’s nationwide adviser events last month, and advisers can complete their training and accreditation on the nib Learning Management System using their existing password.

Products available will include:

• Ultimate Life Insurance – cover to support a client’s loved ones if they die or are expected to die within the next 24 months;

• Ultimate Trauma Insurance – cover that extends beyond the initial diagnosis of a medical condition to support a client and their family’s well-being;            

• Ultimate Income and Mortgage Protection Insurance – pays a monthly amount if a client is unable to work because of illness or injury;

• Ultimate Total & Permanent Disability Insurance – focuses on the financial impact of lasting disability, so clients can rebuild their future with less financial strain;

• Ultimate Waiver of Premium – removes the burden of premium payments for a client if they’re disabled, ensuring their Ultimate Life & Living cover remains active.

 The full suite of products will be available for comparison on Quotemonster by the end of the month. You can find out about how Ultimate Life and Living works on Quotemonster at our forthcoming roadshows.

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ANZIIF is set to participate in International Women’s Day 2025

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Keri Jenkins to leave Wealthpoint

nib to roll out life insurance offering next month

nib’s new Ultimate Life and Living products, which include life, trauma, TPD, income protection and mortgage protection will be available from next month. nib are currently running roadshows outlining its new products, but pricing will not be released until closer to the policies being in the market. QPR has rated the products, and they have come out favourably.

New customers buying bundled health insurance and Ultimate Life and Living policies will qualify for a 10% premium discount, while current members can qualify for multi-cover discounts ranging from 10% – 15%.

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Fidelity Life increasing the underlying premium rates from 1 April

Partners Life’s QFA Phase 2 upgrade is now live

Financial Advice NZ Community of Practice: Central District 25 February

Willis Towers Watson will carry out the first independent investment review of ACC

How much do you need to save for retirement?

There are many differences in opinion in how much people need to save. Here is a run through some excellent current resources:

This article calculates that if you want a ‘choices’ lifestyle (income of $60,000 - $87,000 a year) you’ll need to have between $890,000 and $1,360,000 saved depending on if you are a single person or a couple. If you want a well-off lifestyle (income of $100,000) a year, you’ll need to have saved somewhere between $1,929,000 and $2,640,000.

Some advisers like to exclude ‘lifestyle assets’ such as a mortgage-free home, caravan and boat from calculations, basing retirement calculations solely on cash and liquid investments. Other people may have downsizing to a smaller home to release some equity as a key part of their retirement strategy.

Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson advocates for people to start saving for their retirement as early as possible

“How much you need to save will depend on your own circumstances, but the sooner you start, the better the position you’ll be in when you stop working.”

Mercer Financial Advice launched a retirement income simulator late this year. If you haven’t already checked it out, we recommend you do. This is quite a comprehensive calculator that lets you estimate your projected retirement savings and how long it may last in retirement. What I particularly like about this tool is it lets you factor in the impact of a career break or move to part-time work, something a lot of parents decide to do at some point. It shows you the results in today’s dollars (having deflated the projected dollar amounts based on the rate of wage inflation of 3.2%).

Sorted also have their retirement calculator you can check out. Simply add your current age, the age you’d like to retire, whether you’re planning on your own or with a partner (and their current and retirement ages), whether you want to live in a main centre or the regions, whether you want a no frills, choices or custom weekly allowance, plus your expected KiwiSaver balances at retirement and any other savings, investments, inheritances, sales of a business or other income. You can also choose to include or exclude NZ Super, depending on whether you think it will still be around by the time you retire.

A useful guide for planning how to spend your savings nest egg when it comes time to retire is The New Zealand Society of Actuaries’ Drawdown Rules of Thumb. It sets out different strategies you may like to use depending on your priorities and risk level, whether you intend to leave an inheritance or whether you want to front-load your spending. They have also published Spending patterns through retirement: implications for retirement planning and drawdown which urges those planning for or managing income in retirement to consider how spending patterns can be expected to change throughout the duration of retirement. Their analysis suggests a typical scenario for New Zealand retirees is that real spending reduces by around 2% a year, which would significantly reduce the amount needed to be saved compared to commonly used benchmarks that assume spending stays level in real terms. Though it’s important to note that the data doesn’t show whether the lower spending is because people become less active during retirement and choose not to do things or become constrained by their resources and must give up such options.

All these reports could be used to build a sound basis for the KiwiSaver and wider Superannuation planning services you may offer.

As always, when it comes to something as important and complex as your retirement savings, if you are reading this and you are not a financial adviser, we encourage you to speak to an adviser about your retirement – and while you are at it, your life and health insurance too.

But you probably are a financial adviser, in which case – why not check out Kiwimonster? Our new, free, data service for advisers to help support your KiwiSaver advice process. You can find it at www.kiwimonster.co.nz

Partners Life appoints new Chief Financial Officer

Mark Schollum has been appointed as Partners Life's new chief financial officer. Schollum is currently Chief Financial Officer at Chubb Life New Zealand and has held a variety of roles in the life insurance industry in New Zealand and internationally. He is qualified as a Chartered Accountant and is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors. Schollum will start his new role in March next year.

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Study finds typical spending slow-downs post age 65 mean could mean smaller lump sum savings needed for retirement

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IOSCO consultation proposes responses to risks posed by ‘finfluencers’

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has proposed a raft of ‘good practice’ measures regulators can use to mitigate risks posed by finfluencers.

Globally, there has been a trend of people turning to social media for advice on making investment decisions. While getting people interested in investing and increasing financial literacy is to be commended, issues arise when finfluencers spread misleading or biased information, promote unsuitable or high-risk products and/or fail to adequately disclose any conflicts of interest.

IOSCO’s Finfluencers consultation report makes a series of recommendations including:

·         Updating legal regimes to explicitly police finfluence

·         Requiring the use of disclaimers and disclosures to help consumers understand the content they are consuming

·         Better-monitor the finfluencer community (e.g. by using data analytics of social media activities) and enforce breaches

·         Conducting joint investigations and co-ordinating enforcement actions in the case of cross-border issues

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Fidelity Life announce product enhancements and digital, service, and retention initiatives

At Fidelity Life’s Engage 2024 conference, Fidelity Life announced a range of product enhancements, digital, service and retention initiatives and other news.

• Trauma and Life covers: The entry eligibility for the Inbuilt Child’s Trauma benefit has been reduced from two years to three months, allowing more families to receive early protection. A new, separate benefit specifically for newborns facing trauma has also been introduced. Fidelity Life will also trail a premium discount for defined exclusions on trauma covers in the coming months.

• Condition Definitions: Refinements have been made for clarity, and Terminal Illness has been introduced as a defined condition across the trauma range, including Child's Trauma.

• Bereavement and Child’s Funeral Benefits: The Bereavement Benefit has been increased from $15,000 to $25,000, and the Child’s Funeral Benefit has been increased from $3,500 to $15,000 for children aged 10 to 20.

• Grief Counselling Benefit: A new benefit offering an additional $2,500 to the sum insured.

• Financial Planning Benefit: Easier access by removing thresholds and extending the claim period.

• New Specific Injury Cover: A low-cost solution that pays a lump sum for any of 30 defined injuries.

• Live Chat: Quick and easy access to New Business and Underwriting teams via Adviser Centre.

• New-Look E-App: A modern and intuitive user experience launching in March 2025. The E-App’s latest upgrade goes live later this month, with the new ‘share’ feature enabling advisers to send a link to their customers, allowing customers to complete all or part of the application on their own.

• Dedicated Adviser Service Team: A team committed to servicing all adviser needs.

• Enhanced Retention Tools: Including renewal reminders and automated SMS reminders for customers. There will be additional roles created too.

• Expanding adviser support roles: Fidelity Life are creating new roles, including a National Partnership Manager for mid-sized and corporate firms, as well as an Auckland Business Manager and a Desk-Based Business Manager, to provide more tailored support and drive closer engagement.

• Adviser Edge Programme: New additions to the programme include an invitation-only overseas study tour and new practice manager masterclasses for admin staff.

• Grow Together programme: Coming in early 2025, the invitation-only Grow Together programme will provide dedicated, prioritised support across key areas including new business, underwriting, and retention. Advisers in the programme can expect to benefit from dedicated support resources, exclusive benefits, and access to a wide range of support tools and professional development opportunities.

• Adviser Council: Fidelity Life are inviting advisers to express their interest in joining their Adviser council, which meets quarterly with Fidelity Life’s leadership team to discuss industry updates, share market trends, and provides objective feedback on their initiatives.

• Adviser relationship survey: To better understand market perceptions and Fidelity Life are launching a bi-annual Adviser relationship survey to provide key insights into advisers' experiences and expectations and where Fidelity Life need to improve.

• Group Solutions enhancements: From early 2025, Fidelity Life will be launching a quarterly industry insight, Group IQ; holding an annual onsite Group HQ conference for the top 30 group advisers; and launching a new group solution designed for small businesses, providing enhanced tools and technology for a smoother experience and better outcomes.

Bronwyn Kirwan, Fidelity Life's Chief Commercial Officer, said

"We are thrilled to introduce these new product enhancements and initiatives. They are a testament to our ongoing commitment to providing our advisers and customers with the best possible support and value.

These enhancements deliver more value, greater accessibility, and increased choice."

More info:

Chubb Life change underwriting process for Mortgage Repayment Cover

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AIA has launched new Specified Accidental Injury Cover product

AIA survey advisers around the need for terminal illness cover

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The FSC has recorded a small deficit of almost $46,000 before tax over the 12 months to June 30

ICNZ has welcomed the passage of the Contracts of Insurance Bill

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