Massey University Fin-Ed Centre — New Zealand Retirement Expenditure Guidelines: Annual Update 2024
Massey University — NZ Financial Education and Research Centre
Publisher: Massey University — NZ Fin-Ed Centre
Sector evidence
Academic
2026-10-09
Next review not yet scheduled
New Zealand
High confidence
verified
SNZ editorial review
Evidence boundary: Massey Fin-Ed Centre Annual Update 2024, first published January 2025, with 28 physical pages and June 2026 capture label. Observed pension-receiving household cohorts use 2022/23 HES data adjusted to June 2024 prices. Cohort averages are not prescribed budgets; historical pension comparisons and modelled savings assumptions are not current benefit amounts or individual advice. Separate 2025 edition in doc-0081 retained.
Short Answer
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.
Key Points
- •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).
Full Summary & Notes
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.
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