RNZ money correspondent Susan Edmunds. Photo: RNZ
Send your questions to susan.edmunds@rnz.co.nz
I'm 60 and my husband is 20 years older. We're very happily married but I'm concerned that if he needs rest home care in the future, we'll be means tested and my KiwiSaver, which I'm working so hard to build up before I retire at 65, may be included in the means testing and I'll be left with nothing for retirement. Can the government take my KiwiSaver for this or is it safe? If they take it I'll be left on the breadline.
KiwiSaver is generally locked in until you turn 65, and while it is, it won't be included in any means testing calculation, because you cannot access it.
Once you have access to your KiwiSaver, it will be part of the means test for the residential care subsidy.
If you are the partner of the person in care and remain in your home, and you don't want to include the value of your home and car in the means test, then your combined assets beyond those things need to be less than $155,873 to access the subsidy.
You can find more information on the Work and Income website.
With all the stories about building company woes going around, I had a related question. If I have a 10-year structural warranty for a newly built house, but the building company goes into liquidation, how do I make a claim on the warranty when something goes wrong?
When you are building a house, you're often offered a guarantee, either from the builder's franchise, if they are part of one, or an association such as Master Builders or Certified Builders, if they are a member.
Ankit Sharma, who is chief executive of Registered Master Builders, says you should make sure that your guarantee includes cover for a liquidation, because not all do.
"The Master Build 10 Year Guarantee provides much greater protection than both the Consumer Guarantees Act and the Building Act and provides cover not included by general house insurance," Sharma says.
"Maybe most importantly, these acts provide no financial support if your builder goes out of business, resulting in no cover for loss of deposit or non-completion. While the Building Act provides 10 years of cover for structure defects, this is only valid if your builder is still in business. The Master Builders Guarantee provides cover, even if your builder is no longer around."
Sharma says people who are concerned about a builder who is a member of Master Builders should get in touch as quickly as possible for help.
It is also important to have written confirmation that an association's guarantee applies to your build.
I am on the aged pension and I am looking at a job that will make me $17,030 per year, or $220.00 per week. My pension is $521.50 per week, so how much tax will I have to pay ?
The pension is about $31,500 a year before tax for a single person. That means you pay 10.5 percent tax on the first $15,600 and then 17.5 percent on the rest.
If you add $17,030 a week to this, you'll still be within the 17.5 percent bracket, which goes up to annual income of $53,500. That means you'll pay 17.5 percent on your new work income but 30 percent anything you earn above that threshold.
Robyn Walker, a partner at Deloitte, says you will need to complete a tax code declaration for your new job.
"Your tax code will factor in whether you have another source of income - like your pension - or other deductions such as student loan payments to come out of your earnings.
"Because you're earning a pension and this is your largest source of income you should use the M tax code for your pension and the secondary S tax code for your employment earnings.
"Your employer will also make deductions for KiwiSaver if you've opted in to this - as you've stated you're on the pension already you may be less likely to be a KiwiSaver member.
"When figuring out what amount you'll receive in the hand each week, you'll also need to factor in ACC levies. Salary and wages are subject to a 1.6 percent ACC levy for earnings up to $142,283 and this is deducted by your employer along with your PAYE. If you're earning $220 per week and using an S tax code, the tax deductions should be $42 per week leaving you with $178.
"If your weekly pension of $606.67 has a M tax code, this will result in tax deductions of about $85 each week, or $521 net. NZ Super is not subject to ACC levies. Your total net weekly position will therefore be $699."
She says this year will be a little different to future years because the change in tax thresholds in July means there are a different set of rates that average out the changes.
"With total earnings of $42,987, your annual income tax bill in the current year should be $6468. Next year this will lower to $6431 because you'll get the benefit of the lower tax thresholds for the whole year."
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