Are Kiwis saving enough for retirement? Evidence from SOFIE

The extent to which people are saving for retirement is a key element in formulating public policy toward saving and retirement incomes. This paper adopts a life cycle model of wealth accumulation to estimate the saving rates that people would need in order to have an adequate income in retirement. Based on data from the Survey of Family, Income and Employment, we found that most of the population aged 45-64 has made adequate provision, especially among the lower income groups where New Zealand Superannuation represents the majority of their retirement income.