Cooking the Books podcast: What do you actually need to retire?

How much do you need to not just retire, but actually enjoy it? Photo / file

Each week the NZ Herald and Newstalk ZB's Cooking The Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it's getting past the retirement scaremongering to figure out what you really need. Hosted by Frances Cook.

Listen to "Cooking the Books: How much money do you need to retire?" on Spreaker.

There's nothing more irritating than patronising, scaremongering articles pretending to offer helpful advice about money.

Take the recent claims that you should have saved your annual salary by the time you turn 30.

As someone who's about to turn 30 myself, I'm only just getting to grips with how money actually works, never mind sitting on a stash of tens of thousands of dollars.

Often these articles seem like nothing more than a way for the author to show off their own money skills.

"I've done it, and so can you," is the attitude, paying no attention to the fact that we're all different, and especially so when it comes to our money situations.

It's all very well for the boffins to set these high targets, but for mere mortals, something so unrealistic can make you feel like it's not even worth trying.

That said, retirement is something many people look forward to, but don't do enough to prepare for.

I called up David Boyle from the Commission for Financial Capability, to talk about what people actually need for retirement.

We discussed the scare tactics around retirement savings, and the different factors people need to consider when planning their retirement.

For the interview, listen to the podcast.

If you have a question about this podcast, or an idea for the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here, Instagram here and Twitter here.

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