Spring Newsletter

Welcome to our Spring Newsletter.

As with previous newsletters, because your time is precious, we only wish to bring to your attention items that can make or save you money.

Therefore we have focused on only two areas

How we can help you make long term savings on your insurance premiums.
What is the right investment portfolio for you?

Life Cover Savings

There are some impending tax changes affecting the insurance industry which moving into next year may affect how much you have to pay for your present Protection Plan. We feel it is important to inform you of the options you have available to combat this.

We believe it may be a good time to consider locking in some of your insurance premiums. Locking in your premiums is similar to a fixed rate home loan, in the sense that you will be protected against future premium increases. Locking in level premiums now can save you thousands and thousands of dollars during your lifetime. In addition it will ensure that you can continue to afford your premiums as you get older.

How it works .

Fixing your Life Insurance premiums now means they won’t increase as you get older and they are guaranteed to the age of 80.

Examples.

Mark is a non-smoker aged 45 and due to his large mortgage and the costs of raising two children has $500,000 of Life Cover. If Mark chooses a standard (or yearly renewable) premium structure, he’ll pay a total of $362,717 by the time he reaches the age of 80. If, however, Mark chooses a level premium structure, he’ll pay a total of only $62,291 , saving him a total of $300,426 over the life of his cover!

Susan is a 55 year old non smoker and as her children have left home and the mortgage is almost repaid she only requires $200,000 of life cover. With a standard premium structure she will pay a total of $117,119 by the time she reaches the age of 80 or only $36,637 if she chooses a level premium structure – a saving of $80,752!

As you can see if we structure your cover correctly there are some real savings available.

How we can help.

For all of you with Life Cover or if you are considering taking out Life Cover now would be a good time to sit down with us to discuss your options and see if you would benefit by moving to a level premium. If you would like the benefit of a free consultation with one of our advisors please respond to this email or phone us on 03 379 6847 to arrange an appointment.

What is the right investment portfolio for you?

In this time of economic uncertainty it may be a good time to look at what options you have when choosing a portfolio or portfolios in which to invest your Superannuation or KiwiSaver savings.

Most providers offer a number of portfolio options ranging from conservative to aggressive. For KiwiSaver investors a portfolio that may be of interest at this time is the Capital Guaranteed Kiwi Fund. This is for investors seeking some degree of stability in the value of their investment. It has the benefit of a guarantee that the unit price on 31 ^st of March each year will never be lower than the unit price calculated as of 31 ^st of March the previous year.

A portfolio that may be of interest to all Superannuation and KiwiSaver investors is the Fidelity Options Portfolio. It is an alternative investment that invests in cash deposits, bills and other financial investments. Over the last three years this portfolio has averaged 11.381% net of tax and investment management fees. Since the inception of KiwiSaver the Options Portfolio has returned 24.10% after management fees and before tax. Indeed according to independent Morningstar research it was the top performing retail fund ranked by year, returning 16.37% as of 31 ^st July 2008.

There are a number of options available. Please look at our website www.supernz.co.nz and click on ‘Risk Profiler’. By answering a few questions this will give you an indication on where you fit on the risk table. Alternatively please respond to this email or phone us on 03 377 3693 and we will arrange a suitable time for one of our advisors to meet with you to discuss your investment, the portfolio and how your investment fits with your bigger picture.

Please let us know if we can assist.

Best Regards.

Ian Greig

Sales Manager

Christchurch Insurance Centre, Superannuation, Retirement Planning, New Zealand