NZ Herald 23 May 2026 - Mary Holm Possible scenarios are: raising the starting age from 65, slowing down the pace at which payments grow each year, and means testing Super so better off people receive less Some of these are discussed in Q As below That leads us to your point about penalising those who have saved
Mary Holm | NZs most trusted personal finance journalist In the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Mary was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM), for services to financial literacy education A Qantas Media Award winning columnist, Mary writes a Q A personal finance column in the Weekend Herald
NZ Herald 24 August 2024 - Mary Holm QI had a small Lotto win late last year — approximately $25,000 from memory Paid off the credit card which took half of it, then upgraded my already-booked cabin on a cruise Friend’s partner was quite wealthy so I took the liberty of asking how he gained his wealth?
NZ Herald 14 February 2026 - Mary Holm QMy daughter starts her first year of university this year and could be studying for three to five years We have $10,000 ready to pay for her first year Under the current government policy, her first year is no longer “fees-free” Instead, that support has shifted to the final year of study
NZ Herald 25 June 2022 - Mary Holm It seems Bitcoin gets such a bad rap but I’ve enjoyed the ride AThat’s great In any volatile investment there will always be winners — along with the losers As long as you’re investing only money you can afford to lose, why not stick with it? But I suggest you don’t get carried away and add more
NZ Herald 27 August 2022 - Mary Holm It’s still likely that over the long term a good diversified portfolio of shares will provide a higher return — but it’ll be a bumpier ride! AGood point Whenever we think about any investment, we need to take fees and tax into account
NZ Herald 20 September 2008 - Mary Holm You’ll probably end up with less in retirement, but your ride will be smoother You might also want to reduce your contributions to 4 per cent, which you can do any time
NZ Herald 27 March 2021 - Mary Holm That doesn’t necessarily mean you should avoid a fund, but be aware that you might be in for a rocky ride However, I suggest you don’t choose a fund because it has performed better than most over any period — even ten years
NZ Herald 17 February 2018 - Mary Holm You’ll probably end up with less but have a smoother ride If you do that, though, please promise yourself you won’t switch back to a higher-risk fund when the market is growing Frequent switchers tend to quit shares after they fall, and move back into shares after they rise
NZ Herald 22 October 2016 - Mary Holm You’re quite right, it’s best to just stay put People pay good money for the ups and downs of a roller coaster ride In investing, you don’t have to pay anything extra for the thrills! If you’re drip feeding money into KiwiSaver or another investment, celebrate the fact that when the market falls, you are buying in at low prices