Retirement targets not on Kiwis' minds - survey

Almost 75 per cent of New Zealanders have not thought about how much money they need to save to pay for their retirement, according to a new survey.

ANZ's "Retirement Savings Confidence Barometer" shows those people who think about their retirement savings target are also the most confident of achieving their ideal retirement lifestyle.

The bank asked 825 people if they were saving for retirement and how much weekly income they wanted to have on top of New Zealand Super.

People were also asked how confident they felt about reaching the lump sum needed to achieve their savings goal.

Only 29 per cent of those surveyed had looked into their savings goals, said John Body, ANZ Wealth and Private Banking managing director.

"Our savings barometer shows that people know they need to save for retirement, they know how they'd like to live when they reach retirement, but the majority haven't considered the amount they need to achieve their goals."

Body said there was a strong correlation between having a savings target and being confident of attaining a desired retirement lifestyle.

A third of the 825 people were not currently saving towards their retirement - depite only five per cent planning to live solely on NZ Super.

Non-savers were asked if they expected to have an extra source of retirement income. About 30 per cent said they expected to fund most of their retirement income from their business, selling their home, owning an investment property, or receiving an inheritance.

More than half of those not currently in a savings scheme said they planned to started saving further down the track.

Of all those planning to have an additional income, only 47 per cent felt confident about achieving their retirement goals.

ANZ's survey also showed New Zealanders lose confidence about retirement as they near 65-years old.

In the 15-24-year old group, 58 per cent of said they were confident, compared to 35 per cent in the 55-64-year old group.

"There is a risk in leaving your retirement savings plans until later in life and then not being confident of achieving the sort of retirement income and lifestyle you may have wanted or thought possible," Body said.

Another report, which came out in August, showed nearly half of New Zealand's retirees felt they were not in a strong enough financial position to meet their retirement needs.

The Financial Education and Research Centre (FinEd Centre) said 47 per cent of retirees did not feel they had adequate financial resources to meet cope with retirement.

The report also showed 33 per cent were not satisfied with their retirement and 46 per cent said retirement was not meeting their expectations.

- nzherald.co.nz