Great little earners

By MARK FRYER

Tot up your income, wherever it comes from. More than $18,500 a year? Congratulations - you're rich.

Or, if not quite rich by most standards, at least above average, according to figures from last year's Census, released this week.

That $18,500 was the median income that New Zealanders aged 15 or more received from all sources, including wages, self-employment, benefits, superannuation, interest, dividends and rents.

The bare number makes things look more depressing than they really are, as the figures include many people who are too young to work or are well past retirement age.

People in the prime of their working lives - 45 to 49 - do rather better, bringing in an average of $28,300 a year ($35,800 for men, $22,000 for women).

But the overall impression from the Census figures is that the vast majority of New Zealanders don't have a lot to get by on; only 1 in every 6 of us gets more than $40,000 a year and 1 in 50 makes it through the $100,000 a year barrier.

Of course we may have all been lying, or forgetful, when we filled out our Census forms last March, but Statistics NZ says its income figures are broadly consistent with information from other sources, such as tax receipts and benefit payments.

Among the other findings lurking in the Census numbers:

* The do-it-yourself culture is strongly entrenched; 1 in 6 people said they got at least some of their income from self-employment.

* Predictably, men outstrip women in the income stakes, whatever the age group. For all ages, the median income for males was $24,900 compared with $14,500 for women. Only after retirement do the sexes achieve near-equality.

* Whatever the advertisements may suggest, most retirees don't spend their golden years counting the returns on their investments. From 65 on, the median income is around $13,000 a year. NZ Superannuation pays about that much (more if you live alone, less if you're married), so the signs are that the majority of retirees have little or no other income. In the 65-plus age group, 60 per cent said they received no income at all from interest, dividends, rents or other investments.

* Governments may fret about the burden of paying pensions to ageing baby-boomers, but changing eligibility rules mean the tsunami hasn't struck yet. At 420,000, the number of people receiving NZ Superannuation or war veterans pensions was down from 441,000 at the time of the 1996 Census. Even so, 1 in every 6 New Zealanders aged 15-plus gets one of those benefits.

* To maximise your chances of earning a top income, it helps to be male and aged from 40 to 44 (median income $35,900). Shifting to Wellington might be a good move too; the capital city region has the highest median income in the country ($22,400) and the highest proportion of people in the $100,000-plus bracket, 1 in every 25.

* Proving either that the work ethic dies hard, or that the elderly have a well-developed sense of humour when it comes to filling out Census forms, 246 people aged 85-plus claimed to be still receiving income from an employer. At the other end of the age scale, 264 young people aged 15 to 19 claimed incomes of $100,000-plus.

* About 151,000 people - 52,000 men and 99,500 women - said they had no income at all.

* To contact Personal Finance Editor Mark Fryer write to: Business, PO Box 32, Auckland. Phone (09) 373 6400 ext 8833. Fax: (09) 373 6423. e-mail: mark_fryer@nzherald.co.nz