Is saving for retirement a privilege?

I’ll be the first to admit finance and numbers aren’tmy strong suit. Mysavings style is “out of sight, out of mind”. Automatic payments go into a bank account I barely touch, and barely remember. Before I realise it, those small fortnightly transfers addup into a respectable nest egg I can rely on in emergencies. It’s something I’ve done since Iwas a teenager with $5 aweek, even wheniwas living off cheap pasta and ketchup for dinner, and it continues to servemewellnowall these years later.

Inmanyways, the Kiwisaver scheme that arrived in 2007 works the same. I couldn’t believehow muchi had saved through Kiwisaverwhenitcameto buying ahouse. Now, that fund is purely going towardsmyretirement. And I’m grateful for it.

But has savingbecomea privilege no longer available to everyone?

There are growing concerns at thenumberof people retiring while in debt. The problem is superannuation works on the assumption people have paid off their mortgage. The reality in the Bay of Plenty ismanyhave not.

Most of the retirees receiving help from budget services were single and lived with adult children and/or grandchildren. Yet somany ofthem were too proud to ask for help.

Iunderstand our seniors’ reluctance. We’re talking of a proud generation. This is where those children and grandchildren sharing thatsame roof need to take notice and step up, inmyview.

Times are tough and the Covid19 pandemic appears to have created a greater divide between the haves and the have-nots. People have lost their jobs, business owners have been forced to shut up shop, but others are buying property like never before and car and spa sales are through the roof.

Regardless, weall need to be there for our seniors while also ensuringwedon’t endupin the samesituation in years to come. Their plight serves as a cautionary tale.

Personally, I’dmuchrather save nowwhile I’m fit and able than try to play catch-up yearsdownthe trackwhenworking hard simply isn’t an option anymore. As formy mortgage, forgoing a fewnice-tohaves in order to paymore on it nowmeanssavings of tens of thousands in interestdownthe track. It’s a lesson every single homeownerneeds to learn, inmy view.

In an age whereweappear to havebecome a society of immediacy— wanting thingsnow and getting themnow— weneed toremember to think ahead. Even if it’s ameasly $5 aweek, it all adds up.

Weall deserve ahappy retirement but it’supto each of us to achieve that goal.