# Massey University Fin-Ed Centre — New Zealand Retirement Expenditure Guidelines: Annual Update 2024 Document ID: doc-0075 Publisher: Massey University — NZ Fin-Ed Centre Catalogue publication date: January 2025 Physical PDF pages: 28 Original capture/access label: June 2026 Source and original reviewed: 9 October 2026 Original local PDF: [Retained original](/pdfs/2024%20-%20Retirement%20Commission%20-%20NZ%20Retirement%20Expenditure%20Guidelines.pdf) Primary publisher source: [Document or publication listing](https://www.massey.ac.nz/documents/2145/new-zealand-retirement-expenditure-guidelines-2024.pdf) ## What the document contributes Claire Matthews’s Annual Update 2024 reports observed spending by pension-receiving households using customised 2022/23 Household Economic Survey data, adjusted to June 2024 prices. It compares one- and two-person households in metropolitan and provincial areas, using second-income-quintile ‘No Frills’ and fourth-quintile ‘Choices’ cohorts. Published by Massey’s Fin-Ed Centre in January 2025 with Financial Advice New Zealand support, the report examines expenditure, other income and longevity risk. These are cohort averages, not recommended minimum budgets, proof that NZ Super is inadequate for every person, or current 2026 benefit rates. ## Substantive findings - The 28-page original is Annual Update 2024, first published January 2025 by Massey’s NZ Fin-Ed Centre, authored by Claire Matthews and supported by Financial Advice New Zealand; it is not a Retirement Commission publication (pp. 1–2). - The source is the 2022/23 Household Economic Survey for the year ended 30 June 2023, adjusted with category-specific inflation to 30 June 2024. New data specifications also affect comparisons with the 2023 edition (pp. 6, 9–10, 25–26). - ‘Retired’ households are identified by receiving NZ Super, a war pension or another government pension as one income source; members may still work and may have other income or draw down savings (pp. 6, 26). - No Frills uses average expenditure of the second household-income quintile (21st–40th percentiles); Choices uses the fourth (61st–80th). They are observed groups, not recommended spending levels or complete coverage of all retired households (pp. 6, 25–26). - At June 2024 prices, observed weekly two-person spending is $909.90 No Frills metro, $1,031.85 No Frills provincial, $1,739.85 Choices metro and $1,210.18 Choices provincial. These household totals are historical cohort averages (p. 7). - The report explains that excess expenditure above its April 2024 NZ Super comparison reflects other income and/or savings. Modelled lump sums assume no other income and specified retirement/investment assumptions, rather than a guaranteed personal savings target (pp. 10–12). - Small survey subgroups and two-week expenditure diaries limit precision; some subclasses cannot be estimated reliably. The similarly named doc-0081 is a separate Annual Update 2025, first published October 2025, rather than a duplicate of this edition. ## Identity, dates and provenance Page 2 explicitly states FIRST PUBLISHED JANUARY 2025 and identifies Massey University’s NZ Fin-Ed Centre as publisher. The 2024 title describes the spending reference year. The original Retirement Commission-labelled filename is preserved as capture provenance, while the catalogue’s publisher and publication date are corrected. Massey’s release article is dated 28 January 2025; that article date is not substituted for an unverified exact first-publication day. The October 2026 review enriches the catalogue and this editorial companion; it does not replace the original publication date or the June 2026 access/capture label. The original PDF and filename remain unchanged. ## Where to check the original Pages 1–2: edition, publication and author. Pages 5–7: scope, cohort definitions and June 2024 expenditure. Pages 9–12: data-specification changes and pension/savings comparisons. Pages 13–19: income and longevity risk. Pages 25–26: data methods, explanatory notes and limitations. ## Evidence limits and use The observed cohorts have access to other income or assets, and some households include working members. The lowest quintile, which can spend less, is not represented by No Frills. These are household-income quintiles, not expenditure percentiles or surveyed recommendations for a minimum adequate lifestyle. The diaries may not represent a typical fortnight, and small subclasses cannot support reliable estimates. Costs and pension rates have a 2024 reference date. Lump sums depend on investment, retirement duration and no-other-income assumptions; they are not promises. doc-0081 contains a different 2025 edition: 28 pages, first published October 2025, with a different SHA-256 fingerprint. No records were merged. ## Additional primary sources - [Publisher series, including separate 2024 and 2025 editions](https://www.massey.ac.nz/research/research-centres/financial-education-and-research-centre-fin-ed-centre/) - [Massey release dated 28 January 2025](https://www.massey.ac.nz/about/news/less-than-500k-savings-enough-for-most-retirees/)