Solo mum Rebecca Briggs says she hasn't joined KiwiSaver because she hasn't had a reliable or regular income in the 10 years since the scheme came in.
The 43-year-old Wanganui resident had a 1-year-old son when KiwiSaver was launched in 2007 and was running her own shop.
The shop became too much to manage with a young child and she decided to study instead, undertaking a legal executive diploma, then a fine arts degree.
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Since finishing that she has struggled to get a full-time, permanent job which fits around her now 10-year-old son.
She has worked at a poultry farm and an after-school care programme, but says there aren't many jobs advertised which she can apply for in Wanganui.
"If I had a regular wage and I was in a set job then I might reconsider it but that hasn't been my situation."
"The reality is, when you are studying and have a child, there was no spare money."
Any spare cash was used to help pay for those emergency situations that crop up - a sick dog and car repairs.
But she is hopeful of getting a job in the future and would like to join KiwiSaver if she does.
Briggs really wants to get a home of her own, as she says the rental market in Wanganui is unstable and she has had to move house a lot because of that.
"That is one of my goals - not to be renting in Wanganui."
Briggs knows KiwiSaver can help her buy that first home.
As to her eventual retirement, Briggs says she will just do what other Kiwis do when it comes to retiring: live off New Zealand Superannuation.
Briggs says her mother was in KiwiSaver and has since retired, but it hasn't provided her with a lot of money.
"KiwiSaver isn't necessarily going to be a large amount to live off. My mum did KiwiSaver from the outset and it was only about six months of money."
She also feels nervous about locking up her money somewhere.
"It just seems to me, part of it is having money held. I just think the world is an unstable place - things can change at any time."