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How much do retirees in New Zealand actually spend, and on what?<\/p>\n
Dr Claire Matthews from Massey University publishes the Retirement Expenditure Guidelines, now in its 4th<\/sup> iteration.\u00a0 The Retirement Expenditure Guidelines surveys actual<\/em> spending by retired households in New Zealand and provides a wealth of interesting data.<\/p>\n Some of the findings include:<\/p>\n But this is indeed a bare-bones existence.\u00a0 Most (if not all) of the clients I talk with aspire to a significantly higher standard of living in retirement.\u00a0 Helpfully, the Retirement Expenditure Guidelines describes a \u201cchoices\u201d level of retirement expenditure \u2013 think better food, eating out from time to time, occasional holidays, etc.\u00a0 To fund a \u201cchoices\u201d retirement, savings to supplement NZ Super at age 65 will need to be:<\/p>\n The range reflects differences between provincial (more expensive) and metropolitan areas, and also assumes you own your house.<\/p>\n Another interesting data point to emerge is exactly where retirees spend their money.\u00a0 The weekly spending for a 2 person \u201cchoices\u201d household in a metro area looks like this:<\/p>\n Understanding much you spend, and where, is a really valuable exercise for planning your retirement.\u00a0 Its well worth categorising all of your spending every month, for at least 6 months, to get a handle on where your money is going.\u00a0 It’s not as painful as it seems – there are lots of online tools and apps that can semi-automate the categorisation process.<\/p>\n Knowing what you spend on food, drinks, eating out, holidays, clothes, education, mortgages, etc is quite enlightening.\u00a0 The outcomes might surprise or even shock you!\u00a0 It also helps to break down necessities v luxuries, spending on yourselves v children, etc, and is vital information for working out what is a realistic level of expenditure for you when you do retire.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dean Edwards<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
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\n Category<\/strong><\/td>\n $\/week<\/strong><\/td>\n Percentage<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Recreation & Culture<\/td>\n \u00a0$141<\/td>\n 13%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Food<\/td>\n \u00a0$125<\/td>\n 11%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Insurance<\/td>\n \u00a0$93<\/td>\n 8%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Home ownership<\/td>\n \u00a0$78<\/td>\n 7%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Miscellaneous<\/td>\n \u00a0$76<\/td>\n 7%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Other housing<\/td>\n \u00a0$73<\/td>\n 7%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Healthcare<\/td>\n \u00a0$73<\/td>\n 7%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Rates<\/td>\n \u00a0$64<\/td>\n 6%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Private transport<\/td>\n \u00a0$64<\/td>\n 6%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Eating out<\/td>\n \u00a0$52<\/td>\n 5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Energy<\/td>\n \u00a0$48<\/td>\n 4%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n House contents & services<\/td>\n \u00a0$44<\/td>\n 4%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Drinks & cigarettes<\/td>\n \u00a0$41<\/td>\n 4%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Telecommunications<\/td>\n \u00a0$33<\/td>\n 3%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Clothing<\/td>\n \u00a0$32<\/td>\n 3%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Vehicle purchase<\/td>\n \u00a0$30<\/td>\n 3%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Public transport<\/td>\n \u00a0$29<\/td>\n 3%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n TOTAL<\/td>\n \u00a0$1,096<\/td>\n 100%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n