Retirement Planning For Expats
New Zealand is a breathtakingly appealing country to want to retire in with vast countryside offering countless leisure activities, a high quality of life, a temperate climate, friendly people, a safe environment, and a relaxed lifestyle.
Although our country has some notable perks, considering the limited visa options and the higher cost of living may leave your decision teetering.
If you’re thinking about retiring in New Zealand as an expat or as a kiwi abroad, it’s essential to have a robust retirement plan in place. Navigating the transfer of pensions, other investment funds, and the tax implications involved can be arduous to say the least.
That’s where the team at MyFuture has you covered. We have worked with countless expats to develop and manage secure retirement plans and guided them through the transfer of pensions and we’d love to do the same for you.
How To Plan For Retirement For Expats In New Zealand
Retiring outside of your country of residency offers a whole other dimension of planning and depends on many factors, such as:
- Where you’re transferring from
- If you have pensions or investments in other places
- If you wish to buy a house or rent
- Which visa you may require.
When it comes to planning their retirement, a common mistake people make is thinking more about how much you’ll need versus what you want to do with it. Retirement is a time to enjoy yourself and reward yourself for a lifetime of hard work. If you focus on just reaching a number, you’re neglecting the lifestyle opportunities and value to your overall well-being.
Planning for retirement begins by getting clear on what your long term goals are and having an honest assessment of where you are at now. Then, in mapping a way forward, we determine how to allocate your resources to help you reach your goals. It also means understanding how to maximise your wealth creation opportunities and diversify your portfolio in order to manage risk.
Retirement Planning Goals For Expats
You’ve made the leap to move to New Zealand, but are you ready to make the leap to a secure retirement? It starts with working out your retirement goals in order to build a roadmap to your future.
Whether you have more traditional retirement plans to live comfortably or if you have loftier goals of a luxurious lifestyle, your retirement goals are within reach. Whichever you prefer, we’ll help you put the plan in place to get there.
It’s important to ask yourself these questions when making a plan for retirement:
- How much income do you have or expect to have to retire?
- When would you like to retire?
- Where do you want to live?
- What are you looking forward to?
- What lifestyle do you want for retirement?
- Do you intend to take any trips or make any large purchases?
- Do you want to continue working?
- Do you have any health concerns?
- What are your debts?
Once you’ve thought about how you intend to spend your retirement years, there are some more practical questions that will guide you in figuring out how much you need to save:
- How much do you normally spend from month to month?
- What is your life expectancy?
- How much money do you have saved?
- How long do you have to save and invest for retirement?
- What wealth building sources are available to you?
Get Ahead With Quality Financial Advice
Our Qualified Financial Advisers can help you achieve your goals with a tailored financial plan and proven financial expertise.
When Should I Consider Retirement Planning?
If you haven’t started planning for retirement, now is as good a time as any. The earlier you start, the more time you have to secure your future and achieve your dream retirement.
Retirement planning doesn’t have to mean making sacrifices when you’re young, but it does mean investing in your future. By understanding and planning your finances, setting goals, saving, and investing, you’ll be well on your way to financial freedom regardless of your age. It can give you the freedom to spend time or money on what matters most and the confidence that your future is protected.
Retirement planning is not a rigid process. Instead, it means balancing your priorities and choosing how much you spend on the things you value most. Get in touch with a Qualified Financial Adviser at MyFuture today for a FREE no obligation Discovery Session to get the best retirement options for expats.
What is our 6-Step Financial Advice Process?
The 6-step financial advice process is the international benchmark for financial planning. This holistic approach is proven to increase the likelihood of you achieving your financial goals.
Understand Your Decision
We start by understanding your goals, financial position, and the decision you’re trying to make. You may already have done your own research, used AI, listened to podcasts, or compared options. That’s completely fine — our role is to understand where you’re at and where you feel stuck. We do this during a Discovery Session.
Validate, Refine or Rebuild
Next, we review your situation, run the numbers, and assess the options available to you. Sometimes your thinking is on the right track. Sometimes it needs refining. And sometimes a different strategy is required. Our job is to help you make a confident, well-informed decision based on your life, your goals and your long-term financial future.
Take Action
A good decision only matters if it gets implemented. Once you decide on the right strategy, we help you put it in place. Whether that involves restructuring lending, setting up investments, reviewing insurance, updating KiwiSaver, or working with other professionals. We don’t just hand you a plan and leave you to figure it out. We're here with you for the entire journey.
Stay Accountable
This is where long-term progress happens. We continue to monitor your position, review your strategy, and help keep you accountable as life changes. Whether interest rates move, your income changes, you receive an inheritance, buy a property, or simply need guidance on the next decision, we’re here to help you stay on track.
Frequently Asked Questions