You should save as much as you can for retirement and everything else. You never know how your health may get later!

Matthew! it is obvious that you do not realize how hard it is to live on a pension, My husband and I could have been living a very happy fully funded retirement, but a certain CEO of a superannuation Company from the 90s, took us for everything we owned our house, business, family, and our health, we ended up in forced retirement on a disability pension, and 25 years later we are still suffering because after paying rent, and other bills, plus medication 13 for hubby a 8 for me, there is not much left. But never think that saving for the future is wrong My advice to everyone is:- Don't Put Your Eggs In One Basket

Except maybe in a pandemic and you lose your employment and you don’t have any savings to fall back on

Enjoy what you have today!

Why not save for retirement, and have (cheaper, less expensive) fun?

It is good if you can save for retirement days. That is what kiwisaver is all about.

No one knows how the future will go. Its always good to have something saved for the future cos you never know. Decisions today can be changed tomorrow.

those who don't save for retirement are hoping for absolute poverty and absolutely no frills for the last 30+ years after there is no work left – good luck!

I have saved for retirement and for now during Covid 19. No one knows the future and what it may bring. I may become sick and cannot work like I used to. What then? Having something aside may help you not struggle and stress where the next income comes from. Bills we all have to pay and will continue to do so till we pass away. It will reduce stress levels should any thing happen.

If i had over again i will listen to my dad to saved. As when i needed now i didn't have its and you find out good people pay being good in life. If had money you life is better many ways

I started saving for my retirement when I was young. I think it is important for me to plan ahead and enjoy good retirement life in the future.

got to save to enjoy good retirement?

Fine. But if you do survive, feel free to be destitute ??

Idiot. What if you do want to retire and you have nothing so can't. Its better to save and not need it than to not save and have to keep on working. Don't spend every pay rise - save some. Emeregency and opportunity money quickly grows and can be siphoned off as down the track money and finally - RETIRE money. Have options later - why decide now that you don't want options later. Again - idiot!!!

My Grandma always said save some money for a rainy day well it's not raining but Covid19 ing. So glad I had some set aside.

Nah, now that I've got the time, I wish I had.

I had to go into forced retirement due to a chronic injury and illness. I was lucky my late husband left me some money as I can't get any government benefits because I'm too young. My illness isn't recognised by centrelink so I do not get any money. I'd go back to work if it was possible.

I retired when I turned 72 to enjoy more travel,spend more money but have enough as I slow down & unable to see the world as much,so saving has many advantages.

Sorry Matthew,, but that's a crock, I retired from paid employment about 20 years ago because the rat race had changed from a pleasant and satisfying experience to that of a galley slave (well it felt like that at the time). Pre covid I regularly volunteered with several organisations and both helped others and did myself good too, you don't get those rewards especially if you only get to love your work

You should have some money set aside for when you need it. You can't always rely on someone for help, not even your own children.

My partner & I have mini retirements and have done this since we were 40 years old. We work hard for 2-3 years, save like crazy, then take a year off & go live near the beach or enjoy travelling/fishing etc. Still have a little left for permanent retirement if we make it to that age but thoroughly happy living cheaply & making the most of our middle age years. Life is different for everyone and you just have to enjoy what you have today.

If you don't save for your retirement you are going to have a poor life when you are older. It is impossible to make ends meet on a Government pension. I have 2 pensions and am living comfortably

Life can throw curve balls. I was married and then divorced and he kept all the super and really most of everything and it was safer for me to just let it be. Now I just live on an aged pension and still have a mortgage at the age of 71. I never gave up on life and to say this is a very uneducated statement. We do have to adjust our lives according to the income we have but do not judge everyone who does not have super. I was of the time when women did not work. The courts need to ensure women get their share of the super no mater what for the years the two were married/together but not for the years apart. i.e. If married 5 years then this period is what shared not the rest. If married for 20 years then 20 years worth of the super is to be shared. It would help a lot of women I should think. Many people have high paying jobs and can sacrifice some of their salary whilst others are barely making ends meet. As for never retiring, well I hope your health stays in good shape. If you wish to work th

Seems like good sense to me; can't rely on government handouts in years to come, so may as well put a bit aside so that you can have a comfortable life style in your later life.

We retired early due to work injuries, both had very physical jobs, lived off our Super until pension age, used some of the Super to buy a Camper van, we had travelled a fair bit prior to retiring, but hadn't done further up north and west from the eastern states. We have been having the time of our lives, have done NT, WA an SA, can't wait to take off again, next year, hopefully. We have seen more of Australia than most people, what wonders we have seen, we love nature, if we had not put extra into Super for the last 25 years of our working life, only $20 extra each a week, we would not have had these wonderful experiences, Cheapest way to travel, free camp 95% of the time, just your fuel and food, still always home cooked, we can afford to go further, just extra for the experiences. Because we were both on minimum wage, the extra bit of money paid in each week, made the world of difference and we didn't miss it, either. Living a frugal life, saving for the big experiences, has been so worth it, even paid o

I worked till I reached my mid 70's because I wanted to have the same quality of life that I had whilst working. I saved hard because I didn't want to rely on the pension as it barely gives you enough to live on. I didn't want to retire when I did but my body thought otherwise. It's very easy in your 40's, 50's and 60's to think you never want to retire, I know that was my experience, but it's not always possible to continue working, your body slows and so does your brain. Matthew B I think you must be fairly young to think the way you do, I do hope you can work as long as your body permits though, it will save the taxpayer heaps.Edited 29-Aug-20 14:06pm

To say that people who retire have given up on life is possibly one of the most absurd and insulting statements ever made. It is not so long ago that companies, particularly the biiger ones, made - note that "made" (they did not offerit) staff redundant as soon as they tirned 50. This policy, like all absurd policies, came out of the USA. Fortunately, at the time there were smaller ones which did not adopt that nonsense so us "oldies" were able to find other better jobs. I am now in my 80s. Am not in the workforce as no-ine will employ me and Federal, State and Territory Governments don't make it any easier for us to get work as we are no longer eligible for Superannuation and other work-related benefits. Maybe Matthew B should try to live on the Single Old Age Pension - I think it is around $495 per week - he will soon discover that when the inevitable time comes when, unless self-employed, no-one will employ him that the income from Super added to the OAP makes one hell of a lot of difference.

not at all u never know what is a head

Save for retirement then have a ball spending it.

I did it and now i have no worries at all, best thing i did

It is better to have something than nothing for retirement

You will have a miserable time if you retire without savings, we did save but had it all stolen and it is hard to make ends meet on superannuation, you want to go out but can't afford the petrol, something goes wrong with the car so you have to cut back on food to pay for it. Then you look back at things you did buy when you had money but you don't want anymore and they are not worth anything to sell because no one else wants them

Enjoy present , don’t worry for future Forget past

I wish i'd saved for retirement...Young and stupid..

When I read the question I honestly thought it was Johana C being ignorant again. I don't know why there are so many questions targeting our older generation in a negative way.

you do what suits you

We're all a bit weird, and individual, do what feels right for you.

Everybody likes to have a little savings set by to do what they want when they retire. Sometimes we retire because of health or other circumstances.

Nah! You should start retirement savings the day after you are born. Retirement is for people who have caught the “ Whoo Hoooo!” Bug and have a lust for life unprecedented in the nippers. Ps one day you will wake up and just go “Ugh” and retire lol yaaaaaay

Matthew B, No we don't give up on life, we have saved for our retirement, and recently purchased a Motor home, which when we do actually retire at the end of the year, we will be going around Australia, and seeing the country that we live in. And we are going to enjoy our life by not being negative.

Through no fault of our own we lost our house and everything that goes with it. when I retired I used my super to pay of our new mortgage-would love to be able to do more but the Pension doesn't cover everything -my husband at 84 is still a School Crossing supervisor -as an ex teacher I have been able to earn a little extra with Private tutoring so save as much as you can so you are not reliant on the Pension.

why, we all know that the government does want to pay the age pension.

Maybe they have a dream they have done it, but not enough money. so they save

My husband and I have saved for our retirement in order to ensure we are not reliant upon the state/ government and to maintain the lifestyle we are accustomed to.

We saved for retirement so we could enjoy our life and not be dependant on social security. Just remember those of us that are older now were not able to contribute and have an employer contribute to superannuation. Depending on how old you are now, i think that paid pensions will eventually stop and you will have had to provide for yourself in later years. We live comfortably and do what we want when we want. We certainly haven't given up on life.

You need money in your retirement to do things like travelling etc.

I think people who save, are smart, we have money for emergencies and if the bottom falls out, we are covered.

no

I've earned the right to retire gracefully given my contribution to society and it's a time to celebrate and enjoy the rest of your life with your family especially your grandchildren and great grandchildren if you're lucky to have them. Most precious time ever??

Both my parents and my in laws are retired and they're still busy as anything. Always out doing something or working on something at home. My parents saving for their retirement means they can buy a free hold house closer to family and not have to worry about money to do what they want. They saved for the freedom to do what they want

Yes a little but arnt we all

I am retired and love it. Because we don’t have a mortgage we can save enough to have overseas trips even on a pension (preCovid) and can go where we like when we like. I certainly haven’t given up on life.

Weird ?? ............ takes one to know one.

That's bull!!!!! Saving for retirement is smart & prudent. I have enjoyed life much more since I retired and done so much - travelled, spent time with family & grandchildren - I could not be happier

its something we all have to do i had to retire a few years ago because of medical reasons i now find if i could have worked till i reached retirement age i would have been far better off

Smart to save for later years

that's bs

It’s not weird saving for retirement, but not all of us can afford to save for anything, with increased rent and living costsEdited 29-Aug-20 04:54am

I work from home. my husband works a better job. we also have a sweet 18 year old girl. we try to save but there are always needs coming up be it my husbands truck payment, gas for the truck etc. as much as we would like to save even with our jobs we do I do more than 1 we don't make enough to save

I bet you live at home with mummy and daddy little Matty B. Better hope they don’t live to long or you might have to try to buy a house yourself, and they may spend that lovely inheritance that you don’t have to save for yourself (because that would be weird ).

I personally think if someone in their 70 s wants to still work full-time as long as they can still do that job their they should be given that chance to work.

I don't think they are weird Matthew B.yes definitely enjoying yourself now is important.some people never retire because they love what they are doing and also because at work they get to chat to their friends . I think it good to have a choice whether you retire or keep working all your life . Some people hate working or after awhile it just gets to much for them to work it didn't mean you have given up on life

Yes indeed..!

I don't think people that save for retirement are weird - I definitely didn't hoard money - born with too many ongoing health issues ! I took early (in my late 40s - got LUCKY) retirement (when offer) and I am enjoying my retirement. I don't miss not working, and I have not given up on life! Edited 29-Aug-20 02:16am

If you are lucky you will finish last day at the work in the morning and die in the afternoon. That's not happen very often for everyone else.

Makes sense but as long as you still have fun along the way

I hope you enjoy your retirement ...that job won't always be there. it might be gone in a year, then you might have to get ready to give up your life very soon perhaps?