KEY POINTS:
New Zealand is a nation of realists when it comes to retiring, a survey suggests.
Research by default KiwiSaver provider Mercer shows that while we would prefer to retire at the age of 57, most of us don't expect to stop working until at least 65.
The survey of 508 people also indicates that more than half of New Zealand workers have given some thought to retirement but have made very little preparation. One in five believe retirement will lead to a lifestyle that is "a lot less comfortable than now".
Those surveyed thought they would need at least $2600 per month after tax to live on, although 10 per cent thought they could live on less than $1000 and 11 per cent thought they would need at least $4000 a month.
The New Zealand Superannuation rate for a single person living alone is about $1200 per month and $1847 per month for a couple.
Mercer New Zealand head Bernie O'Brien said retiring at 57 was achievable but people needed to plan more.
"Our view is if you are 30 and want to retire at 57 you can do it - you just need to plan for it and start saving now."
O'Brien said the KiwiSaver sentiment survey showed Kiwis were generally positive about the Government's retirement savings scheme.
Just under 70 per cent thought they had a reasonable working knowledge of the scheme and of those, four in five rate it as beneficial. However only 50 per cent of those who thought they were less knowledgeable about KiwiSaver thought it was beneficial.
O'Brien said more financial knowledge and education was needed to get the message through.
He said he had been surprised by the positive response towards KiwiSaver. "I think people have become more accepting that they have to take personal responsibility for their own retirement savings."
In Australia where compulsory superannuation saving has been in place since 1992, people use their personal super to fund 43 per cent of their retirement while New Zealanders only use private super funds to fund 27 per cent of their retirement.
