Growing numbers of Kiwis face spending more time retired than in work - and too many are doing nothing to get their finances in order to prepare for these years.
ASB's general manager of wealth, Jonathan Beale, says he worries some people either have no financial plan or are reluctant to seek help.
"People are living longer and if you are 65 there is a good chance you will make it to your 90s," he says. "This represents nearly 30 years and some will be in retirement longer than they worked and they will face huge pressure on their income and expenses."
Beale says people need to develop a financial plan well before they hit 60: "By then it is fairly late, you have just about run out of time."
His concerns are similar to those revealed by a joint Commission for Financial Capability and Financial Markets Authority survey conducted in 2015 which found six out of ten people over 50 had never sought financial advice, while only 21 per cent were willing to get advice if they were close to retiring.
The survey also showed nearly half of those aged over 50 had no financial plan, many relying instead on the advice of friends, neighbours and work colleagues.
Beale says a lot of people struggle with seeking help. "It doesn't sound like a lot of fun and can be quite overwhelming. If you're someone who has had no experience with finance or investing it can seem very alien."
He thinks some may be put off by not wanting to be seen as naïve or lacking in knowledge.
"I've had a lot of interesting feedback," he says. "I remember one customer telling me his skin crawled at the thought of meeting a wealth manager, but when he did he found the experience completely different from what was expected."
Beale says the Financial Services Legislation Amendment Bill introduced into Parliament in August and which is expected to be passed into law by May 2019, is designed (once enacted) to make access to financial advice easier.
He says it will remove some of the barriers existing under the current Financial Advisers Act (which will be repealed) and open the door to online advice (referred to as robo-advice) by lifting restrictions on the types of advice that can currently only be given by "a natural person".
He says robo-advice won't replace anyone's ability to deal with human advisers, but is designed to aid the process: "For example, people can start to build their knowledge online and then move on to a meeting with an advisor in person when they feel a bit more informed," he says.
Beale believes one factor contributing to the problem people are having in planning for the future is New Zealand's overheated property market, particularly in Auckland.
ASB's Housing Confidence Survey released last week showed people are becoming more gloomy about property as price expectations hit a six-year low and interest rates are expected to slowly rise. It showed a net 17 per cent of respondents expect house prices to rise over the next year - down from the previous result of 32 per cent.
"Investing in property has been good to a lot of people for a long time, but now it is out of reach for many, so what are the alternatives?"
Beale says KiwiSaver is an obvious area of investment but people need to plan what they are going to do with this money on retirement - and whether they are in the right fund to achieve their goals and plans.
He says as people approach retirement - the number of those aged over 65 is expected to jump to 1.2 million in 20 years, a 77 per cent increase on those at the age in 2016 - people can expect to go through two phases: the early lifestyle years where they are out doing things like travelling and the later health care years.
Beale says ASB has a team of 40 wealth managers who are available to consult with people.
"We are reluctant to force talking about things like income and growth assets on people; first we get to know them and their plans, then if we can help we explain and show them how so they understand the risks and benefits.
"Often we will call them before a meeting to introduce ourselves and outline how we work - we find as a result people are less nervous when we eventually meet them.
"We are seeing more people who have money in term deposits who are seeking alternatives because interest rates are low; others have surplus cash after selling up and moving out of Auckland; while others come to us after receiving a surprise windfall like an inheritance," he says.
For more information visit asb.co.nz/wealth
ASB Wealth Managers' disclosure statements are available on request and free of charge.