Retirement Planning
Even if your retirement is a long way off, the financial decisions you make today can have a major affect on your lifestyle in the future. So start planning now!
Where will your money come from in retirement?
Most retired New Zealanders get their income from two main sources - a pension from the government, called New Zealand Superannuation, and their own private savings.
For some, those savings may come from a superannuation scheme run by their employer or an external provider. The government is trying to encourage more New Zealanders to save through a voluntary superannuation scheme called KiwiSaver.
Options aside for the moment, your real challenge is to work out how much you'll need to live on in retirement over and above New Zealand Superannuation, and how much you need to save to have that extra income.
What are your retirement goals?
How much should you be saving now?
Visit the Sorted site at http://www.sorted.org.nz/calculators and use these tools to find out
New Zealand Superannuation
What is it and how much will I get? New Zealand Superannuation is a pension paid by the State to most New Zealand residents from age 65 until death.
Who Qualifies? To be eligible for New Zealand Superannuation you need to be aged 65 or over and a legal resident of New Zealand, having lived here for 10 years since age 20. Five of those years have to be since you turned age 50. If you are close to retirement and want to know more precisely the level of New Zealand Superannuation you would be entitled to (and information about supplements, overseas pension issues, etc) then click here to e-mail us or call (0800) 10 22 64 and ask to be put in touch with an adviser in your area.
How much is New Zealand Superannuation? The table below illustrates the maximum fortnightly payments for Super. It shows the amount you get before and after tax at the normal rate. If you have other income, you will be taxed at a different rate. If you receive a pension from an overseas Government, it is likely to be deducted from your Super.
If you have a partner who doesn’t already qualify for their own Super, you can choose to include them in your payments. If you do this, you could both get paid but any other income either of you earn could affect how much you get. We can help you work out the best option.
| Fortnightly payments |
Before tax |
Taxed at `M' (if you have no other income) |
| Single living alone |
$729.00 |
$621.90 |
| Single (sharing) |
$668.56 |
$574.06 |
| Married, de-facto or civil union couple (partner not included) |
$547.26 |
$478.38 |
| Married, de-facto or civil union couple (both partners qualify) |
$547.26 each |
$478.38 each |
| Married, de-facto or civil union couple* (only 1 partner qualifies) |
$519.72 each |
$454.98 each |
|
*This amount may be affected by other income you receive. People whose payments started before October 1991 may get more than this. |
|
Rates at 1 April 2009 (Source: Work and Income – Ministry of Social Development) |
These figures are intended as a guide only. If you are close to retirement and want to know more precisely the level of New Zealand Superannuation you would be entitled to (and information about supplements, overseas pension issues, etc) click here to e-mail us or call (0800) 10 22 64 and ask to be put in touch with an adviser in your area.