[Ana&Steve]

I have a few questions on the subject:

~What is the general retirement age/how long do have to work to retire?

~Are there retirement savings that you can set up with your employer that they
match what you put in? (401K or IRA in US)

~Are there other plans for retirement; investments or such?

~Is retirement a difficult thing in NZ?

I did a forum search and found some tantilizing tidbits, but not enough to fully grasp the situation. Any help would be appreciated! :)

Ana

[Trigirl]

government pension starts at 65. you have to have lived in NZ for 10 years to qualify. it currently pays $500-$600 a fortnight. some good info here http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/documents/brochures/new-zealand-superannuation.pdf

some (but i get the impression not many?) employers offer a pensions scheme of their own.

the government is just introducing something called "kiwisaver" which means that all employers will have to offer a scheme which you can pay into out of your pre-tax salary (deducted directly by your employer) and the government contributes a one-off $1000 http://www.ird.govt.nz/kiwisaver/

or you could just pay into a normal investment fund to save by yourselves i guess? i think this is probably what we're going to do.

[tonyb]

Ive just looked at the site and thw figures you quoted are FORTNIGHTLY, NOT WEEKLY.

Tony

[Trigirl]

sorry - you are completely correct - i'll never get used to this kiwi habit of quoting/paying stuff fortnightly! i'll edit it in the post above. thank you

[Ana&Steve]

Thanks for the links, Trigirl, and the attention to detail, tonyb! :)
Ana

[upnorthkyosa]

How long is a fortnight?

[Trigirl]

sorry - a fortnight is 2 weeks

i used to get in trouble for saying fortnight at the last place i worked with head office in the states - i forgot its not commonly used everywhere.