First investors in new scheme

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33750, 24 January 1975, Page 9

First investors in new scheme

Two sharemilkers are the first investors in the Christchurch district in the new farm ownership account scheme under which the Government makes generous free grants to investors after they have had their money in an account for five years.

The scheme, operated by the Rural Banking and Finance Corporation through the Post Office, is designed to help young-people to accumulate the money required to eventually buy a farm.

Up to §3OOO per year may be invested in a farm ownership account and amounts in excess of that may be carried forward into a succeeding year. Interest is at 3 per cent. At the end of five years the investor is eligible for a 25 per cent free grant on his total savings, not including interest, which is tax free, should he then wish to acquire a farm. The amount of the free grant subsequently goes up 5 per cent per year until at the end of 10 years it is 50 per cent.

An example of how this money can accumulate is given in a brochure produced by the Post Office Savings Bank. It shows that a person investing the maximum allowable amount of $250 per month in the scheme would have $50,884.17 available for a deposit on a farm after 10 years. Two or more persons

may also combine their savings for joint ownership of a farm so that a greatly increased sum could be available.

However the scheme is not open to everyone and the Rural Banking and Finance Corporation has to approve the opening of accounts. The scheme is not open to persons who have, or have had, a substantial interest in land in New Zealand or elsew’here.

Young people still at school, so long as they have attained the age of 15 years, may open an account and Mr R. T. Beaton, district savings promotion officer with the Post Office Savings Bank in Christchurch, said this week that they hoped to make contact with secondary schools with agricultural classes and they were also very willing to talk about the scheme to branches of Federated Farmers or the Women’s Division of Federated Farmers and Young Farmers’ Clubs and similar organisations.