Another OCR drop? Three smart ways to restructure your mortgage now.
Lisa and Tom had $180k of usable equity locked up in their Tauranga home and a bank that kept saying 'maybe next year'. Here's the structure MHQ used to get them across the line — interest-only, equity recycle, lender switch — and the four-year plan that followed.
Zhiyang Cheng,
Mortgage Adviser & Sales Manager
Advice for every stage, all our knowledge in one place.
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How much should I contribute to KiwiSaver?
The default contribution rate for employees is currently 3.5%, with the default employee and matching employer rate scheduled to rise to 4% from 1 April 2028. But the default rate is a government setting, not a personalised retirement strategy. The right contribution for you depends on income, mortgage commitments, other investments, retirement goals and how much flexibility you want outside KiwiSaver.
Once I've bought my first home, what should happen to my KiwiSaver?
This is one of the most overlooked KiwiSaver moments. Once the deposit goal disappears, your investment timeframe can suddenly extend by decades. That may create an opportunity to revisit your fund, level of risk and contributions and move into what we call Retirement Acceleration. You’ve used KiwiSaver for the first big milestone. Now it can start building the next one.
I'm buying my first home. Should I move my KiwiSaver into a lower-risk fund?
Potentially. The closer you are to needing the money, the more important it becomes to consider the impact of a major market fall immediately before your withdrawal. This is where KiwiSaver changes from being primarily a growth strategy into a deposit strategy. We help you decide when and how much risk should come off rather than making an arbitrary switch based on headlines.
Growth, Balanced or Conservative. Which fund should I be in?
It depends on when you expect to need the money and how comfortable you are with your balance moving up and down. Someone with 30 years until retirement may have a very different capacity for investment risk than someone planning a first-home withdrawal next year. We match the strategy to the job the money needs to do, rather than your age alone.
Should I choose the KiwiSaver provider with the best recent returns?
Usually not based on recent performance alone. The fund at the top of a performance table today can be very different from the one at the top several years from now. We look at investment philosophy, risk, asset allocation, consistency, fees, management style and how the fund fits your timeframe. The goal is not to chase yesterday’s winner. It’s to build a strategy you can stick with.
Is active management worth paying more for?
Sometimes, but the fee alone doesn’t tell you whether it is worthwhile. What matters is whether the manager delivers enough value after costs, over an appropriate period and for the risk taken. A higher fee doesn’t guarantee better performance, and a lower fee doesn’t guarantee a better outcome. That’s why we prefer to compare the whole investment proposition, not one number.
What’s the difference between an active and passive KiwiSaver manager?
A passive manager generally aims to track a market index rather than trying to consistently beat it. An active manager makes investment decisions about what to buy, sell or avoid in an attempt to outperform a benchmark or manage risk differently.
Should I choose the KiwiSaver fund with the lowest fees?
Not necessarily. Low fees are attractive, but the cheapest fund can still be the wrong fund if the investment strategy, level of risk or provider doesn’t suit you. Likewise, a more expensive fund needs to demonstrate that the additional cost is delivering value.
Aren’t KiwiSaver returns already shown after fees, so do fees really matter?
Yes, fees still matter, but they shouldn’t be looked at in isolation. Standard KiwiSaver fund reporting includes return measures net of annual fund charges, which means the published result already reflects those charges. That makes the outcome after fees more useful than simply comparing fee percentages.
My KiwiSaver is already growing. Why would I need an adviser?
Because having KiwiSaver and having a KiwiSaver strategy are different things. Your provider, fund, level of risk and contribution strategy can all influence where you end up. We help work backwards from what you want KiwiSaver to achieve and make sure the settings underneath it make sense.
If I don’t pay for KiwiSaver advice, how do you get paid?
Fund providers pay us directly. The fees you pay don’t change. You use an adviser, you do it yourself - the fee remains the same.
How much does it cost to get KiwiSaver advice?
At MHQ, we do not charge any service fees to manage your Kiwisaver for you, yet we continue to provide advice through the years. Where others add on a service fee, we believe in access to advice. We believe in filling the advice gap that exists in New Zealand. Because we get paid by fund providers, we do not feel the need to charge you more for this access. Thats how we work.
Do you only deal with mortgages?
No. We provide advice across mortgages, KiwiSaver, and insurance. Each affects the other, so we look at all three together. Your KiwiSaver strategy, your insurance cover, and your lending structure should all be working in the same direction.
Where do I start?
With a conversation. We’ll get a clear picture of your goals, your current financial position, and where you want to go. From there, we can tell you exactly what’s possible and what we’d recommend.
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