While a couple who wanted to have "choices" in retirement would need to have a combined $552,000.
That's a far cry from the average KiwiSaver balance of $11,440.
David Boyle, head of investor education at the Commission for Financial Capability, said balances for the average employed worker was likely to be closer to $20k as the total average was pulled down by the number of children signed up to KiwiSaver who were likely to have very low balances.
Boyle said the research showed New Zealand Superannuation wasn't designed to be the "total solution" for people's retirement.
While KiwiSaver had been going for more than eight years balances were still not that high and many people were not contributing at all.
"I think there is still quite a bit of work to be done."
He pointed to Australia where contributions rates to superannuation were now in the double digits.
There is so much to take into account to know where a person is at. Looking at a KiwiSaver balance is only a small part of it.
Boyle said there were no hard and fast rules for how much people had to save because everyone had different ideas for what kind of retirement they would like.
But it was important that people sat down and thought about what they wanted and got advice on how to get there.
Massey University's Claire Matthews, who carried out the research said knowing the average amount people had in their KiwiSaver account was not enough to judge whether people were on track alone.
"It is a complex question."
"There is so much to take into account to know where a person is at. Looking at a KiwiSaver balance is only a small part of it."
Matthew recommended people use the retirement planner calculator on the sorted website to help people figure it out.
She said there were no hard and fast rules for saving for retirement.
"We can't just say if you are at this point you will be okay and if you're not you've got some work to do."
It's one of those things that research shows people who have done retirement planning are more likely to have a good retirement.
But she recommended people join KiwiSaver as soon as they start working and then take a hard look at their situation at around age 40.
"That's when retirement is starting to be on the horizon. It's not quite so far away. It is also kind of that mid-life crisis point."
That was a good chance to look at what you had done up until now, what do you wanted to achieve in the future and what you needed to do to get that.
"At 40 you've still go 25 plus years. You've got a reasonable window to get on track."
She suggested people then take another serious look at age 50 and then every five years thereafter.
"It's one of those things that research has shown people who have done retirement planning are more likely to have a good retirement.
"It would be ideal to do it at 23 - but the reality is that is not likely to happen."
But signing up to KiwiSaver at a young age meant that when you came to think about retirement at age 40 you were not starting from scratch.
Kiwisaver statistics:
• IRD's official monthly statistics show more than 2 million people are enrolled in the retirement savings scheme.
• New Zealand's largest KiwiSaver provider says women are reportedly $60k behind men on retirement savings.
• For a 25-year-old to save $552,000 for retirement, it would require saving $46 a week to live a lifestyle of choice.
• For a 50-year-old to save $552,000 for retirement, it would require saving $144 a week to live a lifestyle of choice.
• According to ANZ, women on average are likely to retire with $144,000, compared to $203,000 for men.
See the latest calculations on retirement savings here:
