Too many Kiwis blowing KiwiSaver payouts

A survey for the retirement commission found more than a third of KiwiSavers are withdrawing their money, with 61% of people spending some of it on a holiday, 37% on home improvements or housing and 32% on a boat or new car.

Tuesday, April 8th 2014, 11:05AM

by Ralph Stewart

It is not that she wants you to stop having fun, but Ms Maxwell says as the amount saved in KiwiSaver gets bigger, it will be more and more important people do some planning."It's probably the biggest sum of money they've ever had available to them across a lifetime."

"We would strongly say take that moment to take a breather, get some very good advice."

Ms Maxwell says most people will live longer than they expect, so that is another reason to think about what you will do with your retirement savings.

NZIG is developing retirement income products that replace the old style annuity products were investors lost control of their capital, experienced high fees and often received low returns. The new products, originally developed in the US more than 20 years ago, allow investors aged 65 or older to remain in KiwiSaver style funds, have access to their capital at all times and receive a minimum annual income of 5% after tax for life.

Read more and join the debate: www.retirementadvising.co.nz

Ralph Stewart is a director of NZ Income.

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