Don't ditch growth at 50
A Mercer study has found that the average Australian retiree outlived their super savings by five years. In New Zealand, the situation is unlikely to be any better.
Financial Services Council chief executive Peter Neilson said official projections tended to underestimate longevity. In 1982, it was predicted that fewer than 580,000 people would be over 65 in 2021. Now, it’s predicted that the number will be more than 810,000.
Most people would use their grandparents and parents as a reference to how long they might expect to live – and how many retirement years they needed to fund – when it was likely that they would live longer, he said.
People might be saving with the goal of funding 20 to 25 years’ retirement, he said, when it was more likely they might need up to 35.
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