WELLINGTON, July 4 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's household pension assets rose in the March 2024 quarter, and led an increase in household wealth, the statistics department Stats NZ said on Thursday.
The total value of insurance and pension assets of households rose by 8.3 billion NZ dollars (5.07 billion U.S. dollars), or 5.5 percent, from the December 2023 quarter, following a 4.3 percent rise in the previous quarter, Stats NZ said.
In the year ended March 2024, household insurance and pension assets rose just over 10 percent, it said.
Superannuation funds such as KiwiSaver comprise the large majority of household insurance and pension assets, and they are invested in local and global equities which can be quite volatile, in this quarter leading an increase in household wealth, said Stats NZ national accounts institutional sectors senior manager Paul Pascoe.
Total household assets increased by 10.3 billion NZ dollars (6.3 billion U.S. dollars) or 0.4 percent in the March 2024 quarter, Pascoe said, adding net worth, the value of total assets less the value of total liabilities, rose 0.3 percent in the quarter. ■
