Half of young workers already saving to retire - bank survey

More than half of young Kiwi workers are already saving for retirement according to a bank survey. Photo/Getty Images.

More than half of young Kiwi workers are already saving for their retirement, according to a survey by the ANZ.

The bank's latest Retirement Savings Barometer questioned 850 people in April and May and found 55 per cent of people aged 15 to 24 were already saving for their golden years.

Of those who were not saving for their retirement 82 per cent said they planned to save for it in the future.

John Body, managing director of ANZ Wealth ,said it was great to see so many young people planning for their retirement.

"We know retirement seems a long way off for young people, but clearly many young people have got the message that they should start saving early."

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But despite the majority of young workers already saving, only 31 per cent were confident of having enough money to provide the weekly income they required when they retired.

Body said the low level of confidence was not surprising but given the long timeframes young people had they were likely to achieve their savings' goals.

"For a young person just starting their working life, it can seem very daunting to think about the lump sum you will need to provide a basic income when you retire.

"But young people have time on their side - a 45-year history of regular contributions to a KiwiSaver fund, with the right mix of investments, means they are very likely to achieve their goals."

The research also found 70 per cent of those questioned were saving for their retirement and only 17 per cent expected to rely solely on New Zealand Superannuation.

That would buck the current trend where around 60 per cent of retirees rely solely on NZ Super to get by.

It also picked up key differences between the sexes with men believing they will need more money to retire on and being more confident in their savings goals than women.

Of those surveyed 34 per cent of men said they would need more than $500 per week on top of NZ Super to live off and 51 per cent of men were confident of reaching their savings' goals.

While 29 per cent of women believed they would need more than $500 per week on top of NZ Super and only 31 per cent were confident of reaching their retirement savings' goals.