What could
retirement
look like for you?

Your health

Good health can give you more choices about how you spend retirement. But your health needs, and costs, may change over time.

Think beyond medical bills. Consider how important it is to stay active, whether your current home will continue to suit you, access to healthcare where you live, and whether you may need additional support later in life. It's also worth thinking about whether there are things you'd like to do sooner rather than later.

You can't predict everything, but you can leave room in your plan for things to change.

Your family

Retirement rarely happens in isolation. Your plans may involve a partner, children, grandchildren, parents or other whānau. Family priorities can shape both the lifestyle you want and the financial decisions you make.

You may want to live closer to family, help children into their first home, pay for family holidays, look after grandchildren, support ageing parents, or leave something behind for the next generation.

These are personal choices, but they can also be financial ones. Ask yourself: Who else might be part of my retirement plan?

Your lifestyle

What does a good week look like? Retirement looks different for everyone. The important thing is to plan for the retirement you want, rather than someone else's idea of it. The clearer your picture of retirement, the easier it can be to plan for it.
One useful exercise is to divide future spending into three groups:
• The essentials
• Lifestyle spending
• The bigger extras and irregular expenses
Thinking about your spending this way can help turn your vision for retirement into something you can start planning for.

Your home

For many New Zealanders, their home is their biggest asset. It's also much more than what it's worth on paper. So think about the role you want it to play in retirement:
• Do you want to stay where you are?
• Will the mortgage be paid off?
• Would a smaller home be easier to maintain?
• Would moving free up money?
• Do you want to be closer to family?
• Could you comfortably manage your home as you get older?

The choices you make about your home can shape both the lifestyle you enjoy in retirement and the finances available to support it.

Travel

For some people, retirement is finally having the time to go somewhere. That might mean weekends away around New Zealand, visiting family in Australia, an overseas trip every few years, or several months travelling each year.
Rather than simply adding "travel" to your retirement wish list, try putting some shape around it.
• Where would you like to go?
• How often? For how long?
• And roughly how much might it cost?

Travel is much easier to plan for once it becomes an actual number.

Working in retirement

Retirement doesn't have to mean stopping work altogether. You might continue in your current role, start a small business or try something completely different.

That can bring benefits beyond the financial. Work can provide structure, social connection, and a sense of purpose. The extra income may also mean you need to draw less from your savings. For some people, NZ Super may become part of the picture too.

So, retirement doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing decision. For many people, it's a gradual transition rather than a single moment in time.

Your life

Before you work out how much you'll need, think about what you'll need it for. Explore the lifestyle you'd like in retirement, from family and travel to work, health, home, and finding purpose in the years ahead.

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Your money

Understand where your retirement income could come from. Explore how KiwiSaver, NZ Super, savings, investments, and other assets could work together to support the retirement you want.

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Your plan

Turn ideas into action. Explore retirement income goals, practical next steps, timelines, and planning tools that can help you move forward with confidence.



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