KiwiSaver in Retirement

It is now possible for anyone over the age of 65 to join or re-join KiwiSaver. There are many retirees who cashed in their KiwiSaver funds without consideration of the options available to them, and there are some who just never got around to joining. For these people, there is now a reprieve. As of […]

KiwiSaver Changes Bring New Options

KiwiSaver members now have a wider choice of contribution options. As of 1 April, you can put in 6% or 10% of your pay as well as choosing from the current options of 3%, 4% and 8%. There are good reasons why you could consider increasing your percentage contribution. If you work part time and […]

How Much Money Do You Need To Retire?

Ask Google how much money you need to retire and you will get a whole range of answers that will leave you none the wiser. That’s because the answer to the question is different for everybody. There really is no ‘one size fits all’ amount that will give you a comfortable lifestyle in retirement. There […]

Plan to Divest Your Wealth

The interesting thing about people who accumulate significant wealth is that they are often not very good at spending it. Either that, or they have so much wealth they are unable to spend it all in their remaining life, despite their best efforts. Wealth accumulators have a different relationship with money than those who are […]

Knowing When to Retire

Choosing the time to retire is a key life decision that some people find extremely difficult. No doubt we can all think of someone who has stayed in the workforce a bit too long. There are a number of reasons why people can be reluctant to retire. Worries about not having enough money to retire […]

Dealing with an Age or Health Gap

Retirement planning is not easy, and it’s made even harder when there is a significant difference in age or health status between two partners in retirement. It is not uncommon to have an age gap of ten or more years, or for one partner to have a life-threatening or debilitating illness. In these cases, the […]

Avoid Underspending in Retirement

One of the biggest mistakes retirees make is to underspend in their retirement. Retirement is full of uncertainties, so the safest strategy is to spend as little as possible. There is nothing wrong with that approach if you don’t mind going without for the benefit of your children. However, most retirees these days are happy […]

Money for Retirement

Money for Retirement Calculating how much money you will need in retirement is no easy task. With life expectancies around 90, there is a period of 20 to 30 years to plan for.  A simple planning framework can help get around some of the uncertainties to make it easier to work out how much money […]

Plan for a Healthy Retirement

Plan for a Healthy Retirement One of the consequences of an aging population is that there will be increased pressure on an already overloaded public health system. Advances in technology will add to the pressure as new but often more costly procedures become available. Health care costs are 10 times higher in old age than […]

Don’t Outlive Your Money

Don’t Outlive Your Money It is said the biggest financial risk anyone takes in their lifetime is the risk of running out of money before they run out of life. Everybody reaches the starting line for retirement in different financial shape. There are those with little in the way of savings because they decided to […]