An industry group for chartered accountants is putting a novel idea on the table to lower the cost of New Zealand Superannuation to the Crown, while keeping it universal.

Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand is advocating for the next Government to allow people to delay the age at which they start receiving Super.

According to NZIER modelling, this approach could reduce the annual cost of Super to the Crown by billions of dollars every year, depending on how the system was designed.

NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explained further.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reserve Bank has raised the OCR by 25 basis points to 2.75 percent, in line with economists' expectations.

Markets expected the cash rate would go up, but many had priced in a bigger increase - and there's still an expectation that the OCR could go up further down the track.

Milford Asset Management's Remy Wisenberg explained further.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Methanex is shutting down its Taranaki plant after 40 years of operation, and there's growing discussion about what this means for the energy sector and wider economy.

The methanol producer is selling most of its natural gas entitlements from the first quarter, and it says continued decline in domestic natural gas, and no clear pathway to meaningful new supply means it isn't sustainable to continue operations in New Zealand.

Former CEO of Methanex Bruce Aitken says Labour's decision to ban oil and gas exploration in 2018 was bad for the sector, with many companies paying the price for it now.

"It's a pretty sad day in a lot of ways, but it's a consequence of one silly ideological decision."

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.