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Headline: NZ Super isn't enough for 'no frills' lifestyle, but Kiwis are bridging the gap

In total 836 comments were made and 8253 votes were cast. So what is the crowd saying?

Comment TotalPositiveNegativeName
Would be easier better if secondary income, working and receiving nz super wasnt taxed so highly, I think thats really unfair 10612115lanfears
Im retired on NZ Super and some savings in KiwiSaver that gives me an extra income. It rankles that I have to pay tax on anything KiwiSaver gives me, having already paid tax for the saving of it. But, of course, I also pay tax on the Super, believe it or not, for it forms part of my taxable income. For the most part, I can afford some of the things I enjoyed when I was in full time work - nights out, a few trips to the movies. But I own my own home, mortgage free. I can see the crunch arriving if I need any ongoing medical treatment not paid for by the state, for I cant even get a visit to the doctor with the inevitable trip to the pharmacy, without knocking a hole in $50. Thats a night out I wont enjoy even if I have the health to enjoy it.
87947Ken Allan
The idea of paying into super when you started work many years ago was for a comfortable retirement but alas many governments have raped that fund ,now they complain theses no money left or very limited monies, whos fault this that , not the tax payers , far as Im concerned, we the tax payer should look after our pensioners and the sick, the rest of them can get out and get to work, if we need to bring in workers from over seas to work in shops, taxi and general labour jobs etc , their shouldnt be any unemployment but no ,we pay millions for the unemployment benefits and still import workers etc 81887Rusty101
Not a lot after paying taxes your whole working life.729220Digga Hole
All I know is that with rates and insuraces far exceeding inflation year after year this comes with no surprise. Even sucessive governments have done the same.71710Ziggaty
Comes down to a simple thing, if you want to keep spending like your still working after 65 and travel far overseas every year till say mid-seventies then you need to start saving now along with the mortgage, changes to Kiwisaver are urgent, like right now, 
start with make it compulsory and more like Aussies work-based super savings scheme.
66726Found out again
How to save more when you are working for peanuts?  You start working life on low salary and with huge debt from education, wish to buy house is already a fantasy.  If you made redundant later in the life, chance to get back into work are slim....  
647814jumanji
I think those figures are going to change dramatically over the next 10 - 20 years, when hoards of people hit retirement without a paid off house, or renting. Good luck living on just the pension only then! 56571SXM2017
this is a real issue, its not over 69, its over 50 53585grumpy123
I can imagine thier difficulty, I know how hard it is, to get by on an average wage. 52564O Really?
Try and get a job over 60. Impossible. 50577Tomcatt
This could be a very useful stream of articles that I suspect many would wish to read. But where is the context, the assumptions that are being made, eg these single or couples are, â mortgage freeâ, or â notâ, they are overall debt free or not, they are in good health or not. Are these â gaps❠weekly or what? Are these gaps net of tax? Are we assuming investments are in superannuation so accessed by the recipient tax paid.Overall this is a very worthwhile article and a theme to be developed for your readers as a part of â general financial literacyâ, which we all need regular infusions of. You just need to do it the justice it deserves, please!44451Peter Harland
Its a hard life on a pension if you are paying a mortgage or rent. 43430karlajayne
Tricky if youve got a Zimmer frame though, johnny.


42475Henry Filth
Well why on earth are we paying pensions to the islands?. These people pay nothing into our tax system and they are not entitled to our taxes. We should be looking after our own people first. Whose ever idea it was to pay these people was just so unfair to us and ridiculous. Why are we all working to pay people who shouldnt be getting it?. Yes we are under British rule but we have never had to do this before?. We should be paying our own people first.41465Misty Lady
This is going to become a massive issue. Older people who dont own property will not be able to afford rent on the pension. The government will be housing an incredible number of people.35361mbar126
Below the photo it says: NZ Super may be liveable, if you own your own home, but savings are needed to turn liveable into choices.So this article assumes you own your own home, presumably mortgage-free. That makes sense (the mortgage-free bit) because if mortgages were included the dollar amounts needed to live would be all over the place, and for some people much higher than these figures indicate. The lack of home ownership among many retirees could, I believe, cause massive financial problems for them unless they keep working long after the retirement age. 33330KWEnz
Gosh, theyre complaining about it now.  In 30 years time we will have 65 year olds who spent half their working lives paying back student loans, and the other half paying off a house...  It will be rare to see retirees with savings at all, let alone a paid off house.  31409tiggerpup
It would be useful to know what hypothetical investments the experts used to calculate the return on the estimated required nest egg. For example, using rounded up figures they say a couple needs about $800k savings to get the $800 per week top up required over and above the super to live a decent lifestyle. Thats around 5% nett return which is a fair enough figure and achievable via property investment, good shares, and bonds, etc but obviously not via the current minimal bank deposit rates. And i assume that this is all based on the retiree(s) having an unencumbered property to live in.31310CricketLuvva

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