16 Comments
I think it's reasonable to expect NZ Super to be subject to future political risks, like means testing, so I want to be able to see whether I'm saving enough to be able to retire without it.
I certainly hope NZ Super is here to stay, and that it remains universal.
As some one noted above, not sure who created the calculator but obviously they are not self employed, as self employed people don’t have the luxury of employer contributions. But the lowest I can select on the calculator is 3 percent. We need to be able to select zero. It seems to be more focused towards wage slaves who work for someone else. Whether someone owns their own home or just rents, and the capital you could release by selling that also makes a big difference and could be another option. Also other assets such as equities. It assumes that the only retirement vehicle people use is KiwiSaver.
A bit simplistic,as well as optimistic. My personal evaluation suggests I am good to ~90, this calculator says 103. Are the annual expenses after retirement adjusted for inflation?
And ditto regards employment contributions. Fortunately it doesn't change my numbers...
No allowance in it for joint income and expenses ? -why are all calcs on an individual basis? administratively its easier but this calculator flies in the face of reality when there are two people pooling savings and expenses and (not infrequently??) still together at retirement. . I'm not sure if doubling and dividing by 2 is going to mke sense in this tool.
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