Young New Zealanders saving for retirement

More than half of young workers aged 15-24 years are already saving for their retirement, and most of those not already saving plan to do so in the future, a new survey shows.

Wednesday, July 2nd 2014, 10:41AM

The latest ANZ Retirement Savings Barometer surveyed 850 New Zealanders in April and May and found that more young people are thinking about saving for their retirement.

Fifty-five per cent of young people indicated they were saving for their retirement. And 82% of those not already saving for their retirement indicated they planned to save in the future.

ANZ Wealth managing director John Body said it was great to see so many young people planning for their retirement.

“With KiwiSaver, the earlier you start saving, the better off you will be,” he said. “Official records show that more than 2 million people are now in a KiwiSaver scheme, which is a fantastic result. We know retirement seems a long way off for young people, but clearly many young people have got the message that they should start saving early.”

But the ANZ survey found that only 31% of young people were confident of saving enough money to provide the weekly income they required when they retired.

“Obviously that’s a low level of confidence, but it is not surprising,” said Body. “For a young person just starting their working life, it can seem very daunting to think about the lump sum you will need to provide a basic income when you retire. But young people have time on their side – a 45-year history of regular contributions to a KiwiSaver fund, with the right mix of investments, means they are very likely to achieve their goals.”

Body said the past seven years had been all about getting people to join a KiwiSaver scheme.

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