FSP 712931
Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver
← All insights

Topic · Page 2

Retirement & decumulation

Planning the move from saving to spending — NZ Super, drawing down KiwiSaver at 65, working past 65, and the questions that decide how long your money lasts.

Working While on NZ Super Tax (2026): How Part-Time Work Past 65 Affects Your Super, Tax and KiwiSaver in NZ

Retirement · 16 Oct 2025

Working While on NZ Super Tax (2026): How Part-Time Work Past 65 Affects Your Super, Tax and KiwiSaver in NZ

Working part-time after 65 does not reduce your NZ Super, because Super is not income-tested. But your tax code does change, and your employ…

Read
Your Partner Isn't 65 Yet: How NZ Super Works for Couples With an Age Gap

Retirement · 30 May 2026

Your Partner Isn't 65 Yet: How NZ Super Works for Couples With an Age Gap

Since November 2020 you can no longer include a partner under 65 in your NZ Super. Here is what the household actually receives in the gap y…

Read
Phased Retirement in NZ (2026): Part-Time Work With NZ Super & KiwiSaver

Retirement · 19 May 2025

Phased Retirement in NZ (2026): Part-Time Work With NZ Super & KiwiSaver

Winding down to part-time at 60+? Here's how NZ Super (not income-tested), KiwiSaver employer contributions after 65, and tax codes work whe…

Read
Residential Care Subsidy in NZ: Asset and Income Thresholds Explained

Retirement · 27 Dec 2025

Residential Care Subsidy in NZ: Asset and Income Thresholds Explained

How the Residential Care Subsidy works in NZ: the 2025/26 asset thresholds, how your home, NZ Super and KiwiSaver are assessed, and the Resi…

Read
The Retirement Income Gap NZ 2026: What NZ Super Leaves You Short Each Week

Retirement · 12 May 2026

The Retirement Income Gap NZ 2026: What NZ Super Leaves You Short Each Week

NZ Super pays a single about $555 a week. A no-frills metro single needs roughly $705. That weekly gap is the retirement income gap, and Kiw…

Read
Retirement Planning for Contractors in NZ: No Employer Match, No PAYE, No Safety Net

Retirement · 18 Jan 2025

Retirement Planning for Contractors in NZ: No Employer Match, No PAYE, No Safety Net

Contractors get no employer KiwiSaver match and no auto-deduction. Here is how to systematise retirement saving on lumpy income and still cl…

Read
Retirement Planning in Your 50s in NZ: Is It Too Late to Catch Up?

Retirement · 13 Feb 2025

Retirement Planning in Your 50s in NZ: Is It Too Late to Catch Up?

Behind on retirement in your 50s? You still have 10-15 years of compounding before 65. Here are the realistic catch-up levers: contributions…

Read
Retiring as a Renter in NZ: How Much More You Need When You'll Never Own a Home

Retirement · 17 Jan 2025

Retiring as a Renter in NZ: How Much More You Need When You'll Never Own a Home

Most NZ retirement numbers quietly assume you own your home outright. If you'll rent for life, rent becomes a permanent line for 25 to 30 ye…

Read
Retiring Before 65 in NZ: How to Bridge the Years Before NZ Super and KiwiSaver Kick In

Retirement · 28 Sep 2025

Retiring Before 65 in NZ: How to Bridge the Years Before NZ Super and KiwiSaver Kick In

Stop work before 65 and you can't touch KiwiSaver or NZ Super yet. Here's how the bridge years work, where your income comes from, and how t…

Read
Retiring Overseas From New Zealand: What Happens to Your NZ Super and KiwiSaver

Retirement · 26 Oct 2025

Retiring Overseas From New Zealand: What Happens to Your NZ Super and KiwiSaver

Planning to retire abroad? Whether you keep NZ Super depends on where you go, and your KiwiSaver options range from transfer to withdraw to …

Read
Retiring With Debt in NZ: Credit Cards, Car Loans and Buy-Now-Pay-Later at 65

Retirement · 18 Apr 2025

Retiring With Debt in NZ: Credit Cards, Car Loans and Buy-Now-Pay-Later at 65

Carrying credit cards, a car loan or buy-now-pay-later into retirement? How consumer debt hits a fixed NZ Super income, whether to clear it …

Read
Retiring With a Mortgage or Renting in NZ (2026): How It Changes Your Plan

Retirement · 12 May 2026

Retiring With a Mortgage or Renting in NZ (2026): How It Changes Your Plan

The standard retirement numbers quietly assume you own your home, mortgage-free. If you'll still be renting or paying a mortgage at 65, your…

Read
Reverse Mortgages and Equity Release in NZ (2026): How They Work and What They Really Cost

Retirement · 11 May 2025

Reverse Mortgages and Equity Release in NZ (2026): How They Work and What They Really Cost

A reverse mortgage lets you stay in your home and borrow against it, with nothing to repay until you leave. But compounding interest at rate…

Read
Safe Withdrawal Rates in NZ 2026: The 4%, 6% and Spend-Down Rules Explained

Retirement · 12 May 2026

Safe Withdrawal Rates in NZ 2026: The 4%, 6% and Spend-Down Rules Explained

Does the US 4% rule work in New Zealand? The NZ rules of thumb, the 6% rule, divide-by-years, and how NZ Super lets you safely draw more fro…

Read
Section 70 NZ Super and an Overseas Pension: How the Deduction Works (NZ)

Retirement · 3 Mar 2026

Section 70 NZ Super and an Overseas Pension: How the Deduction Works (NZ)

If you hold an overseas state pension, Section 70 means it is deducted dollar-for-dollar from your NZ Super. Here is which pensions count, h…

Read
Self-Employed Retirement Planning NZ 2026: Building a Nest Egg Without Employer Contributions

Retirement · 12 May 2026

Self-Employed Retirement Planning NZ 2026: Building a Nest Egg Without Employer Contributions

No employer paying into your KiwiSaver? Here is the four-move plan to build a real retirement on your own terms, using KiwiSaver, your busin…

Read
Sold Your Business in NZ: How to Plan the Proceeds for Retirement

Retirement · 19 Feb 2025

Sold Your Business in NZ: How to Plan the Proceeds for Retirement

A 2026 guide to turning business-sale proceeds into reliable retirement income in NZ — tax, a safe drawdown rate, KiwiSaver, NZ Super and pr…

Read
Sequencing-of-Returns Risk in Retirement (NZ, 2026): Why the First Five Years Decide Everything

Retirement · 11 Jan 2025

Sequencing-of-Returns Risk in Retirement (NZ, 2026): Why the First Five Years Decide Everything

Two retirees can earn the exact same average return and end up with wildly different outcomes — purely because of when the bad years land. H…

Read
Sequencing Risk and Your KiwiSaver in NZ (2026): Why a Crash Near Retirement Hurts Most

Retirement · 17 Aug 2025

Sequencing Risk and Your KiwiSaver in NZ (2026): Why a Crash Near Retirement Hurts Most

A market fall just before or after you retire does far more damage than the same fall at 40. Here is what sequencing risk is, why cash is no…

Read
Variable vs Fixed Drawdown in Retirement (NZ, 2026): How to Decide How Much to Take Each Year

Retirement · 10 Oct 2025

Variable vs Fixed Drawdown in Retirement (NZ, 2026): How to Decide How Much to Take Each Year

Fixed-dollar, fixed-percentage or guardrails? Here is how the main retirement drawdown methods behave in good years and bad ones, and how to…

Read
When Can You Retire in NZ? A Readiness Checklist (2026)

Retirement · 19 May 2026

When Can You Retire in NZ? A Readiness Checklist (2026)

NZ Super starts at 65, but eligible and able to afford it are two different questions. Here is a 7-point readiness checklist plus how to bri…

Read
The Women's Retirement Gap in NZ: Why Women Retire With Less and How to Close It

Retirement · 30 Jan 2026

The Women's Retirement Gap in NZ: Why Women Retire With Less and How to Close It

Women in NZ retire with materially less than men: KiwiSaver balances average $34,185 for women versus $42,664 for men, a gap of about 25%. H…

Read
Working Past 65 in NZ: Can You Get NZ Super and a Salary at the Same Time?

Retirement · 5 Jun 2025

Working Past 65 in NZ: Can You Get NZ Super and a Salary at the Same Time?

You can draw NZ Super and keep earning a wage — Super is not income-tested, so a job does not reduce it. What changes is your tax code, your…

Read

Next step

Want this looked at for your own situation? Book a free 30-minute review with a licensed Smiths adviser — no obligation, no sales pitch.

Book a free review