KiwiSaver can play a big part in either purchasing your first home or setting yourself up for a comfortable retirement, be that from age 65 or later, and for many, it will play a part in both.
But how many of us know how to plan for our retirement and exactly what we should do with our KiwiSaver when we retire? How much will you need? How long will it last? Will you have enough?
Retirement is a great milestone and should be something that we look forward to! We’re living longer, we’re healthier and ensuring we can have the freedom we want when we are no longer working is the question many of us ask ourselves as we arrive in our 50s. However, it can be challenging to get our heads around what to plan for and each of us will have different requirements in our freedom years.
If you’re looking for help, the 2023 ‘New Zealand Retirement Expenditure Guidelines’ produced by Massey University could be a good place to start. This research shows that that a one-person household living in a metro area with a ‘No Frills’ lifestyle will spend approximately $43,000 per annum, or $826 per week. This compares to NZ Super of $496 per week received by a single person living alone in 2023. This produces a gap of $330 per week to fund a ‘No Frills’ lifestyle and withdrawals from your KiwiSaver is one way to help plug this retirement income gap. However, for some of us, a ‘No Frills’ retirement doesn’t allow for much freedom when we are no longer working. What is often not considered, is the fact that when we have more time to do things, join things, participate in things and just enjoy life, there are often costs involved.
For more info, watch our two helpful videos here:
Jessica Travers, Financial Adviser talks about how to work out how much you may need for retirement.
Watch this video to see how the Forecast My Balance tool can help you with your planning.
Approaching retirement often comes with a lot of decisions. Including when to retire!
We know today that many people continue working past the age of 65 when KiwiSaver becomes available for people to access. Therefore, at age 65, you have two options:
For clients aged 65 or older, we have a Spend my KiwiSaver tool available in your client portal, which will give an indication of how much you could spend in each year of your retirement and pre-populate key parts of the retirement withdrawal form for you.
Liam Robertson, KiwiSaver Adviser, talks about what to do with your KiwiSaver funds when you retire.
Withdrawals can be set up to suit your individual needs. Many of our clients opt to withdraw a regular income to supplement their lifestyle whilst others prefer to withdraw lump sums as and when needed for things like a new car, holiday, renovations etc.
To make your first retirement withdrawal, simply download the form here or use the Spend my KiwiSaver tool to work out how much you would like to withdraw and how often, then download the partially pre-populated KiwiSaver retirement withdrawal form via the tool, or contact Milford and we’ll provide you with the form.
Once the form and statutory declaration are completed, return these to us and we’ll arrange your withdrawals for you. Subsequent retirement withdrawals can be completed without re-doing the statutory declaration and in most cases, can be actioned via your client portal and app.
Watch this video to see how the Spend My KiwiSaver tool helps you work out how to use your KiwiSaver to help fund your retirement.
If you’re wondering whether you’re in the correct fund, whichever stage in the retirement planning cycle you may be in, help is also available at Milford. Digital advice is accessible via your client portal or mobile app if you are already a Milford client.
Our Digital Advice for KiwiSaver tool will tell you if you are on track to meet your retirement goal and guide you to the fund that is appropriate for your risk tolerance and aspirations. It will also tell you how you can increase your KiwiSaver balance by contributing more and/or contributing more frequently.
If you aren’t already a Milford KiwiSaver Plan member, digital advice can be accessed easily via our tools below.
For investors with $500,000 or more to invest our Wealth Management team is here to help you meet your investment goals, offering a range of services to suit different client needs. From in-depth discussions that help you select directly from our fund range, to ongoing personal advice to guide you towards realising your financial goals, centred around a diversified Milford Wealth Management Portfolio.
It’s time to walk the talk. This practical, easy-to-use workbook includes planning tools, tips and ideas to guide you as you define your financial goals and set strategies to reach them.
Learn how to navigate your finances in your 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond. Maybe you have bit of financial stability and are ready to set yourself up for future you, or you’re ready to kick back into retirement, regardless we can help.
Age 65 is widely regarded as the age of retirement in New Zealand and is considered an ideal time to “down tools”. This is the age that New Zealand Superannuation will start to be paid…
Jessica Travers, Financial Adviser talks about how to work out how much you may need for retirement.
Liam Robertson, KiwiSaver Adviser, talks about what to do with your KiwiSaver funds when you retire.
Consumer People’s Choice – Milford KiwiSaver Plan
(8 years running)
Canstar’s KiwiSaver Provider of the Year 2023 (4 years running)
Fund Manager of Year: KiwiSaver
