All tagged Retirement
This week's blog post got started because I received a random Instagram message from KiwiSaver provider kōura asking me to sign a petition they have launched. Although I chose not to sign the petition, reading it did get me thinking about the gap in retirement savings between men and women and that tinkering with KiwiSaver legislation won’t really address two of the critical findings of an earlier report from the Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission.
The weather turned cold here last week, a perfect time to read one of the many personal finance books I have on my ‘need to read’ list. Reading the latest book by Martin Hawes coincided with people mentioning the book in emails to me. Hearing good things meant it rose to the top of my reading pile.
With our house prices continuing to climb, more and more pressure is going on first home buyers to save up the large deposit they need to buy a house. This is hardly news to you I know and this blog post is not really aimed at those of you who are poised and on the cusp of buying your first home, instead, it’s aimed at your far younger children, siblings, nieces, nephews and friends who might also want to both buy a home one day AND retire.
In mid-March, I happened to have RNZ on in the background when one of their guests mentioned that they got such a fright at the drop in their KiwiSaver balance that they immediately switched from a Growth fund into a Conservative fund in an effort to stop themselves losing money. I remember stopping what I was doing and smacking myself on the head in a Homer Simpson ‘DUH’ moment and saying out loud to myself “Noooo. What did she do that for? And why did she have to say it on the radio where other people might think it’s a good idea to do the same?”
There has been quite an increase in questions over the last couple of weeks, which is not at all surprising given how much uncertainty is out there. And this week, having answered so many emails, plus I was finishing writing and recording my final podcast episode of this series, I’ve not quite gotten around to a new blog post. So this week I’ve decided to republish a post I wrote back in 2017 because I feel that it’s still very relevant today.
I might as well cut to the chase. I loved this book! None of our lives are linear, we all have twists and turns along the way and everyone is on a different journey. For the author of this book, Scott Rieckens, one big fork in his road came when he stumbled upon the concept of FIRE while driving to work listening to a podcast.
Lynn has been thinking many years ahead to her retirement and was wanting to know how to start to sell down her SuperLife funds. It’s a good question to ask because there is always a lot of content on a website about how and what to purchase, but finding how to divest yourself of your funds over time is a little harder to come by.
I’ve been hearing from a few of you because you have been opening up your KiwiSaver account statements at this time of the year. And there have been a few unexpected surprises in there.
Have you ever thought “How much do I need to save for my retirement”? I certainly have. Professor’s from Trinity University in America created a study that looked into a sustainable withdrawal rate and to cut a long story short, they came up with the 4% Rule.
