Kiwis get serious about savings

KiwiSaver has more New Zealanders thinking seriously about their retirement income and is helping them save for it, according to the latest AMP SuperWatch research released this week.

Thursday, April 17th 2008, 5:10AM

In the survey, three quarters of people said NZ Superannuation and other savings and investments, including KiwiSaver, would provide sufficient income for their retirement; 20% considered NZ Superannuation by itself likely to be enough.

"More New Zealanders are now considering making provision for a comfortable retirement. Even better, more people are doing something about it," AMP's head of investment strategy, Leo Krippner said.

The survey showed numbers saving for retirement are definitely up; 65% of people are saving specifically for retirement, which compares to 47% in 2006. Numbers saving for a rainy day increased to 55%, from 39% in 2006.

AMP's survey also suggests that people may be becoming more aware of diversified savings options, which Krippner believes is a good sign.

"This looks like a positive trend that we hope will continue. A diversified portfolio is a more reliable form of saving for the long term, and it has the added benefit of making funds available for the investment that New Zealanders need to grow," he said.

He also expects KiwiSaver will remain focused on the long term, and people in the scheme will take recent market performance in their stride, particularly because they are already well ahead from their KiwiSaver incentives.

Of all the New Zealanders surveyed by AMP, 38% say they are unlikely to join KiwiSaver. Krippner believes this is because of a lack of understanding about KiwiSaver.

"Overall, almost half of the non-joiners believe they do not know enough or they feel confused about KiwiSaver. That confusion could well be holding people back from joining KiwiSaver, and that suggests more education is needed."

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