Global and domestic share markets have fallen recently, mainly due to stubbornly high inflation which is contributing to increasing interest rates and fuelling concerns about an eventual recession. This market weakness was in spite of general solid earnings results from companies and a very resilient consumer typified by low rates of unemployment in many major markets including New Zealand. 

The last payment date for benefits for 2023 will be Friday 15 December. You need to factor that in if you’re planning to withdraw money towards a deposit for a first home or for any other reason. For a pre-Christmas payment, Mercer needs to receive the completed form from you (or HR/Payroll in the case of leaving service payments) by Friday 8 December. Investment changes requested and regular payments for retained members will be processed as usual. The helpline will also operate as usual over the holiday period.

We are pleased to announce a suite of enhancements to UniSaver. The changes to the rules set out in our trust deed will make the scheme easier to understand especially for new staff joining the scheme. They will also deliver tangible benefits for existing members. This article explains what we’ve changed and why.

We’ve introduced a new feature to make UniSaver a more attractive option for managing your money in retirement. With UniSaver, you can split your savings across a number of investment options. Until now, if you make a partial withdrawal for any reason and you are invested in more than one investment option, funds are withdrawn proportionally from across those options. We’ve changed this so that retained members can nominate which fund they want to make a withdrawal from. This will make the scheme more attractive if you plan to follow a strategy where you invest money you plan to spend in the near term in a low-risk fund and money you plan to spend in the longer term in a higher-risk fund or funds. You’ll find information on this approach in Sorted’s guide to managing your money in retirement [external link].

As directors, we share members’ concerns about the increasing impact of climate change and have moved to reduce the carbon footprint of UniSaver’s investment portfolio. This article looks at the steps we have taken.

If you’ve chosen to invest in UniSteps and you’re aged between 45 and 69, your investment mix will change on 1 November. You’ll remember that, with UniSteps, the mix of growth and income assets changes automatically as you get older. Up until age 45, your savings are invested in approximately 80% growth assets. From then, the percentage of growth assets is reduced gradually to approximately 20% from age 69. The investment mix changes on 1 November each year, not on your birthday or the anniversary of the date you joined UniSaver.

The annual report and financial statements for the year to 31 December 2022 and fund updates for each investment option for the year to 31 March 2023 are available to view online. They have been posted on the Disclose Register [external link] and on this website under documents and forms. You are entitled to receive a hard copy of these documents free of charge. Call the helpline, and we’ll send them to you.

View a webinar on retirement planning recorded with Mary Holm in September 2022. There's also a handout with key points and references from the webinar, plus links to articles.

Your benefit is not paid automatically when you leave work. You need to fill in form12 leaving form [PDF, 128 KB] in order to access your savings. You can also use the form to let us know if you’d like to leave all or part of your benefit in UniSaver and become a retained member. Remember, you can only withdraw funds from the locked section if you’re over 65. If you’re under 65, your options are to leave your locked funds in UniSaver or transfer them to another complying superannuation fund or a KiwiSaver scheme. Fill in form 6 change of employer [PDF, 73 KB] if you’re leaving to take up a position with another university that offers UniSaver.