{"id":48517,"date":"2025-08-11T15:46:37","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T03:46:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milfordasset.com\/?p=48517"},"modified":"2025-09-26T15:54:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T03:54:09","slug":"ageing-fast-saving-slow-nzs-retirement-timebomb-keeps-ticking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milfordasset.com\/insights\/ageing-fast-saving-slow-nzs-retirement-timebomb-keeps-ticking","title":{"rendered":"Ageing fast, saving slow: NZ\u2019s retirement timebomb keeps ticking"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article was originally published in the NZ Herald<\/a> on 11 Aug 2025.<\/sub><\/p>\n

New Zealanders are ageing faster than we\u2019re saving, and unless we make changes, many Kiwis could face retirement without enough money to live comfortably.<\/p>\n

Like many other countries, our population is ageing rapidly and in just five years, we\u2019ll have more than one million people aged over 65.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re ageing into a real savings shortfall,\u201d says Blair Turnbull, CEO of Milford. \u201cThe demographics and the numbers are clear. The traditional ways we\u2019ve done things are not fit for the future. We can\u2019t just save through our homes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our national savings habits, however, aren\u2019t setting us up for a comfortable retirement. According to the NZ Society of Actuaries<\/a> and the Massey University NZ Retirement Guidelines<\/a> the average 45-year-old is on track to arrive at age 65 with around $156,000 in KiwiSaver. That\u2019s well short of the $271,000 that is recommended for a \u2018choices\u2019 lifestyle in a city.<\/p>\n

Home ownership isn\u2019t a retirement savings plan<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

For our grandparents, a mortgage-free house was often seen as the way to save for retirement, but that is no longer a reliable strategy. The way we live has shifted dramatically over the past few decades. We now live longer, we\u2019re less likely to own homes, and if we do own a home, it\u2019s not necessarily going to be debt-free by the time we retire.<\/p>\n

One fifth of Kiwis aged over 65 are renting, and another 14% are still paying off a home loan. Even those with debt-free homes can still be short of cash to cover their living expenses.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t eat your home in retirement,\u201d Turnbull says. \u201cA quarter of retirees are asset-rich, income-poor, and they really struggle to meet their day-to-day needs. That\u2019s not the retirement we want people to have. It\u2019s great to own a home, but having suitable savings to support your lifestyle is also important, and for this you need a diversified approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kiwi households are doing it tough and struggling to save<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Retirement savings at an individual level can be daunting, he notes. \u201cThe average KiwiSaver balance is around $37,000, so if someone says you need a million dollars, you might think \u2018I might as well give up now\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ideal retirement fund would include not only a home, but also money that\u2019s available immediately to pay your bills, which usually means a solid KiwiSaver fund plus other savings. But that\u2019s much easier said than done when the cost of living is high and rising.<\/p>\n

\u201cAround half of New Zealanders are literally living payday to payday,\u201d says Turnbull. Indeed, recent research indicates that a large number of New Zealanders would struggle to pull together $5000 if needed in an emergency. \u201cIf your household isn\u2019t saving much, it\u2019s important to know that you\u2019re not alone \u2013 half the country is in a similar position, and we see this situation replicated around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

How do we put money away for the future when our current spending has us at full stretch? It\u2019s a difficult question \u2013 and one that, according to Turnbull, requires action on multiple fronts: from improving financial literacy and planning, to evolving KiwiSaver settings and expanding the ways New Zealanders can invest confidently for the long term.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe acknowledge that it\u2019s very hard at the moment, but that doesn\u2019t mean there are no options. Can you make your current savings work harder? Are you in the right KiwiSaver fund? Can you budget better? It\u2019s tough for a lot of families, but if you just keep kicking the problem down the road, the harder it becomes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Should we increase the age for NZ Super eligibility?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

One way we can help tackle the retirement shortfall is by encouraging more investment into KiwiSaver. The recent change to increase the rate of the employee and employer contribution is a step in the right direction, says Turnbull, and he says Milford would like to see the rate rise again, reaching 5% \u2013 currently Milford as an employer matches Milford employee contributions up to 5%. In Australia, the compulsory rate paid by employers is 12%.<\/p>\n

What about raising the age for superannuation eligibility, like so many other nations have done? Turnbull believes that shortening retirements isn\u2019t the answer, particularly for people who have worked in physical jobs their whole lives. Instead, he would like to see all New Zealanders be better prepared so they can enjoy a high quality of life throughout their later years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a natural tendency for us to procrastinate, but don\u2019t put your head in the sand,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s not going to make it go away. Recognise that you\u2019re not going to get instant gratification, and instead take a longer view. Understand your money, talk about it, make a plan for it, so you can have a comfortable lifestyle right throughout your later years.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article was originally published in the NZ Herald on 11 Aug 2025. New Zealanders are ageing faster than we\u2019re<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":48519,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[850,848],"tags":[840],"media_type":[701],"fund_category":[],"class_list":["post-48517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-retire-well","category-investing","tag-masterclass","media_type-read"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAgeing fast, saving slow: NZ\u2019s retirement timebomb keeps ticking - Milford<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nzherald.co.nz\/sponsored-stories\/ageing-fast-saving-slow-nzs-retirement-timebomb-keeps-ticking\/GUSRUTS47ZC4HNGH2Q5ANU73RA\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MAM\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nzherald.co.nz\/sponsored-stories\/ageing-fast-saving-slow-nzs-retirement-timebomb-keeps-ticking\/GUSRUTS47ZC4HNGH2Q5ANU73RA\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/milfordasset.com\/insights\/ageing-fast-saving-slow-nzs-retirement-timebomb-keeps-ticking\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"MAM\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/milfordasset.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f1d0ca8b4295df91c529dc366431f417\"},\"headline\":\"Ageing fast, saving slow: NZ\u2019s retirement timebomb keeps ticking\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-11T03:46:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-26T03:54:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/milfordasset.com\/insights\/ageing-fast-saving-slow-nzs-retirement-timebomb-keeps-ticking\"},\"wordCount\":829,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/milfordasset.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nzherald.co.nz\/sponsored-stories\/ageing-fast-saving-slow-nzs-retirement-timebomb-keeps-ticking\/GUSRUTS47ZC4HNGH2Q5ANU73RA\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/milfordasset.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/5HBIY5HZ7JFAVKMYOGBJMEJHQA.avif\",\"keywords\":[\"Masterclass\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Retire Well\",\"Investing\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-NZ\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/milfordasset.com\/insights\/ageing-fast-saving-slow-nzs-retirement-timebomb-keeps-ticking\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.nzherald.co.nz\/sponsored-stories\/ageing-fast-saving-slow-nzs-retirement-timebomb-keeps-ticking\/GUSRUTS47ZC4HNGH2Q5ANU73RA\/\",\"name\":\"Ageing fast, saving slow: NZ\u2019s retirement timebomb keeps ticking - 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