Forum Home
PC World Chat
Thread ID: 66172	2006-02-13 21:32:00	Retirement planning - boring but necessary!	Tony (4941)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
430106	2006-02-17 02:56:00	Winston - My issue is not how to save but how to spend. :) John H - I've looked at the Retirement Commissioner, Sorted and Consumer, and they all deal with how to save rather than your actual needs in retirement. The nearest I've come to anything are general statements that you "need 70% of your pre-retirement income" but none of them deal with your differing spending patterns with advancing age. The nearest thing I have found was on the Stats NZ website as I indicated in the original post, but that stops at age 65. I've been in email contact with: Statistics NZ Retirement Commissioner New Zealand Institute for Research on Ageing Economist Dr. Susan St. John all of whom said it was an interesting subject, no there wasn't any research, and did I want to provide some funding? To which I responded that if I were to fund the research I probably wouldn't have any nest-egg left to which I could apply the results. :D	Tony (4941)
430107	2006-02-17 03:21:00	snip I've been in email contact with: Statistics NZ Retirement Commissioner New Zealand Institute for Research on Ageing Economist Dr. Susan St. John all of whom said it was an interesting subject, no there wasn't any research, and did I want to provide some funding? To which I responded that if I were to fund the research I probably wouldn't have any nest-egg left to which I could apply the results. :D Sorry Tony, but you have to laugh, or you'd go mad wouldn't you? I know the Retirement Commissioner professionally, and I would have expected better from their office. Strewth. I had a look at the Age Concern website, and there ain't anything there - just preparing for "positive ageing", and nothing like what you want. Following the research line, I looked at the NZ Institute of Research for Ageing website, and again there was nought in sight. www.vuw.ac.nz They do cite a research report on the reverse mortgage idea, and indicate it is available from the Retirement Commissioner, but I didn't find it on the RC website: Davey, J. (1998). The prospects and potential of home equity conversion / equity release in New Zealand. Wellington: Office of the Retirement Commissioner. I couldn't find anything else. It seems like a fairly basic enquiry on your part, doesn't it? I guess most of the work that is going on focuses on retirement planning because someone is going to make a buck out of it - it lets the gumberment off the hook if we have saved all our lives; it supports the superannuation and insurance industries; and it pays the bonuses of all those people in the real estate industry that sell investment packages there as well. Who makes a buck out of finding how much we need to have/expenditure patterns in our "golden years" (spew, sorry). Cynical? Moi?	John H (8)
430108	2006-02-17 06:12:00	I had a look at the Age Concern website, and there ain't anything there - just preparing for "positive ageing", and nothing like what you want.I'd forgotten them - I've been in contact there too - same results as you. I also looked at the Grey Power website - what a waste of time that was. It looks like it hasn't been updated for years. One of their most recent news items concerned Jenny Shipley as Prime Minister! It seems like a fairly basic enquiry on your part, doesn't it?I've been really surprised at the lack of info available. A couple of correspondents have said that they have tried to get the work done, but couldn't get any traction from the politicians. :angry	Tony (4941)
430109	2006-02-17 08:03:00	Tony, I frankly doubt if anyone or any organisation can give you any more advice on how you spend your income in X years time. Circumstances are so individual. The KEY thing is to maximise your savings and investments while you are still earning. plan to pay off any major areas of capital expenditure such a new car, appliances and if circumstances permit maybe downsize your property. The rest is entirely up to you and enjoy the good life!	bonzo29 (2348)
430110	2006-02-17 08:44:00	Tony, I frankly doubt if anyone or any organisation can give you any more advice on how you spend your income in X years time. Circumstances are so individual.That has never been my objective. What I have been looking for is some general indication of how spending patterns tend to change with age. If for instance it could shown that in general spending dropped by 5% every 5 years (to use a totally arbitrary set of numbers) that would be very useful in trying to decide how much I can afford to spend now and still have money left 20 years hence. I've been doing some modelling and (a) if you start with an annual figure of x and appreciate it by the rate of inflation (to nominally maintain your spending power), you get a huge difference from if you (b) start with x+20% (say) and don't appreciate it (i.e. your spending power decreases by the rate of inflation). If I decide that case (b) reflects a real-world pattern (i.e. actual spending decreases with age) then that means I can spend much more now (as much as 45% in one scenario) on foreign holidays, meals out, good wine, big plasma TVs etc. and still be reasonably confident that my required standard of living will still be achievable 10/15/20 years hence. As you say, circumstances change from individual to individual and my own finances could be totally thrown into disarray tomorrow, but looking at the general population can be helpful when trying to decide one's own course of action.	Tony (4941)
430111	2006-02-18 01:17:00	Its a very interesting question Tony and I've never seen anything to give an answer. The best I can do is pass on Gareth Morgans advice. You take a big hit at the moment of retirement. The main effect is psychological - not going to work can make people feel useless and irrelevant. Thats why having hobbies and interests outside the house are essential. You should plan to replace major appliances and cars at retirement. This is a one-off cost. Why? Because at 65 -70 you can still cope financially and personally with the hassle of sourcing new stuff at a good price etc. But at 75 - 80 your confidence has shrunk and it is just harder to deal with stuff. So you should budget an upgrade while you are healthy. Beyond that, hard to say. I have friends who expect to travel and even live part-time in Oz when retired. I'm rather astonished but we have older clients who already do this. The best plan is to have one of your children live in a nice spot and provide the accomodation. :D Everybodys health and expectations differ in retirement. My own father, who lives a simple life, says that at 80 money is unimportant, health is by far the most critical issue. There are lots of rich folk slipping away in resthomes.	Winston001 (3612)
430112	2006-02-18 02:21:00	Its a very interesting question Tony and I've never seen anything to give an answer . It astonishes me that no-one has appears to have seriously looked at this before . As to your other advice - all good stuff, but largely not applicable to us . We built a new house 4 years ago (with the aim to be living in it till we are carried out) and got new appliances then . Both our cars are recent - one less than 2 years old . The psychological thing also is not a problem for us - I've worked for myself in a variety of ways for about the last 25 years - some of our friends say I started my retirement back then! My wife was in a senior executive position until she was made redundant some 5 years ago, and she also has been working for herself and winding down since then . The best plan is to have one of your children live in a nice spot and provide the accommodation . First we'd have to quickly find some kids . :) As I said somewhere earlier in this thread, our ambition is to spend our last dollars on bottle of bubbly, then keel over immediately after - which is why I want to make sure I am not too conservative now . :D	Tony (4941)
430113	2006-02-18 04:16:00	Winston and Tony - my late parents in law, immigrants from the north of England who were prone to cliches and formulaic sayings, had a few classic statements about life, the universe, and everything. Throughout their later years, starting around retirement time, the most common saying was "This will see us out..." be it new wallpaper in the lounge, a new fridge, or a new video recorder. My wife and I, now 61 and 60 respectively, used to think it was funny, but we have started saying it as well, kind of in a joking fashion, but... Sigh. :horrified	John H (8)
430114	2006-02-18 06:59:00	John H: I used to laugh at the way my father always turned to the death notices first when he read the newspaper. And now I find the need to keep up with those myself... I echo your sigh.	Laura (43)
430115	2006-02-19 04:31:00	Hi Tony, Sorry I have been away on holiday for the last few weeks but you might like to have a look at the following website www.kslfinancial.co.nz (this is the company that I work for - that is the disclosure aspects taken care of) on there you will find a fact find information form. By filling out the details we can produce a full financial plan for you which will indicate how much you will have to live on at and beyond retirement. We also may have strategies to maximise your capital and can help you with all aspects of retirement planning. This service is free up until such time as you purchase a product or service from us, and we will quote you as to what costs are involved before you purchase. (no nasty suprises). If you have an aversion to filling out forms on line(I do) you can call the office on the number on the website. Ask for Rob. If you are in Christchurch so much the better, but we can do everything over the phone or the internet if it suits. I am pleased you bought this topic up as it is coming around too fast for all of us and most people just take the ostrich approach. Worst case you do nothing and end up living on $250 per week or you take control and look at what you can accumulate for your retirement. cheers, Rob	theother1 (3573)
1 2 3 4 5 6