Self-employed people are opting out of KiwiSaver, putting their retirements at risk. 

A new report from the Retirement Commission and accounting firm Hnry's reveals only 44% of self-employed people actively contribute compared to 78% of employees.  

It shows 41% of self-employed workers don't get any government contribution.  

Hnry CEO James Fuller told Ryan Bridge when the Government halved KiwiSaver contributions in this year's Budget, many decided to put their money elsewhere. 

He says self-employed people have started putting their money into high-risk, short-term investments, meaning they won't have enough retirement savings. 

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A reassurance that banking won't be much riskier even if capital rules are changed.  

The Reserve Bank's put out two proposals to loosen capital requirements after the government called for it.  

One of them is reducing minimum capital requirement for deposit takers from $30 million to $5 million.  

Founder of KiwiSaver provider Simplicity, Sam Stubbs told Ryan Bridge there are other rules, so it won't make it much more hazardous.  

He says the Reserve Bank will still keep a close eye on any group calling themselves a bank. 

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The Reserve Bank says it wasn't dragged kicking and screaming to a review of capital rules. 

It's put out two proposals aimed at loosening capital requirements.  

Board Chair Neil Quigley says they were reviews that the bank has been looking at for a while.  

He told Mike Hosking if they were loosened, it wouldn't cause too much of a shakeup, and it probably won't have a big effect on pricing.  

Meanwhile, Quigley says the decision about a full-time replacement for Adrian Orr is weeks away.   

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The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessarily shared by BNZ, or its related entities. BNZ is not liable for any losses resulting from the content of the podcasts. 

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A banking expert believes changes to capital requirements would impact home loans and other lending.

The Reserve Bank's seeking feedback on proposals to lower the requirements.

The Government is concerned the current settings are inhibiting economic growth. 

Head of Massey University's Finance school, Dr Claire Matthews, says a lot of people have said the bank's gone too far with those requirements.

"It's just taken the Government intervention to actually force them to have another look at it." 

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The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessarily shared by BNZ, or its related entities. BNZ is not liable for any losses resulting from the content of the podcasts. 

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US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has indicated rate cuts could be on the cards soon.

Powell indicated the tariffs were making an inflationary impact, but he explained the impact could still be temporary.

Harbour Asset Management's Shane Solly explained further.

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The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessarily shared by BNZ, or its related entities. BNZ is not liable for any losses resulting from the content of the podcasts. 

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Self-employed Kiwis are prioritising their businesses rather than thinking about retirement. 

A report by the Retirement Commission and accounting firm Hnry shows just 44% of self-employed people actively contribute to KiwiSaver. 

This is compared to 78% of employees. 

The report also reveals 41% of self-employed workers don't get any government KiwiSaver contribution.  

Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson told Mike Hosking they're having to make trade-offs. 

She says employees get contributions from their employers, but self-employed people are having to pay themselves. 

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The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessarily shared by BNZ, or its related entities. BNZ is not liable for any losses resulting from the content of the podcasts. 

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The OCR got another cut this week, now down to 3%. 

While there have been questions for a while around whether banks are passing the cuts down to consumers, the real question is whether the cuts will actually solve anything at all. 

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The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessarily shared by BNZ, or its related entities. BNZ is not liable for any losses resulting from the content of the podcasts. 

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You got into your first home unscathed, so buying again will be a breeze, right? Wrong. 

When it comes to moving up the property ladder, going from your first home to your second introduces a whole new level of stress to a homeowner's journey. 

Squirrel mortgage adviser Kat McInnes joins Nadine to talk through what can go wrong, and how to avoid sabotaging yourself on the next rung of the ladder.

If you have a question you want answered, or a financial story to share, get in touch at [email protected] 

The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessarily shared by BNZ, or its related entities. BNZ is not liable for any losses resulting from the content of the podcasts. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government has announced a $2.7 billion defence spending boost to upgrade the aircraft fleet. 

The money will be spent on five Seahawk helicopters and two Airbus aircrafts, to replace the Defence Force's "embarrassing" planes, in Judith Collins' words. 

It's part of National's pledge to boost defence spending by $9 billion over the next four years, but why now? 

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The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessarily shared by BNZ, or its related entities. BNZ is not liable for any losses resulting from the content of the podcasts. 

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Parliament's finance and expenditure committee released the findings of its banking inquiry today, making 19 recommendations - 14 of which have cross-party support. 

It concluded there is no silver bullet for more competition in the sector. 

Committee member Todd Stephenson saysthe first step is reducing barriers to entry. 

He says a large part of that is capital requirements for new players. 

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The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessarily shared by BNZ, or its related entities. BNZ is not liable for any losses resulting from the content of the podcasts. 

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