Retirement checklist NZ: 10 years, 5 years, 1 year out and your first year

The best time to plan retirement is about ten years before it, when there is still time for small changes to add up. In our worked example, a couple aged 55 could spend about $1,052 a week after tax for life if they retire at 65. Working one more year lifts that to about $1,085, because NZ Super is paid from 65 even while they are still working; saving $50 a week more until 65 lifts it to about $1,066. Retiring at 60 instead leaves them only about $156 a week from savings until KiwiSaver opens at 65. This checklist breaks the decade into four stages: 10 years, 5 years and 1 year out, and the first year of retirement. Tick off what applies to you. Rules checked 12 November 2026.

10 years out: find your number

At about 55, the big decisions still have time to work. This is the stage to get a realistic picture and change the things that matter most.

1. Work out your retirement pay. Put your ages, salaries, KiwiSaver balances and other savings into the retirement calculator. It shows what you could spend each week for life, after tax. Our retirement pay guide explains how to read it.
2. Pick a spending figure. Massey University's guidelines are a good starting point; our Massey guidelines guide explains the four levels. Then adjust for your own life.
3. Check you will qualify for NZ Super. The residence rule is phasing up from 10 to 20 years in New Zealand since 20, including 5 since 50, depending on your birth date.
4. Check your KiwiSaver settings. Are you getting the full government contribution (25 cents per dollar, up to $260.72 a year)? Is your fund type right for your timeframe?
5. Plan the mortgage. If you will still owe money at 65, decide now how you will clear it. Our retiring with a mortgage guide compares the options.
6. Decide where you will live. Owning, renting and downsizing lead to very different plans.

What small changes do at 55

All of these are after tax and in today's dollars, for our example couple with $250,000 in KiwiSaver and $50,000 of other savings, planning to 95. Working past 65 adds the most because NZ Super starts at 65 whether or not you have stopped work, so each extra year brings wages on top of NZ Super and leaves savings untouched for longer.

5 years out: test your date

At about 60, the plan becomes a date. This is the time to stress test it.

1. Test your retirement date. The when can I retire calculator finds the earliest month you can stop work and still reach your target.
2. Look at the bridge years. KiwiSaver is locked until 65 and NZ Super starts at 65. If you plan to stop before then, only savings outside KiwiSaver can pay you. Our example couple retiring at 60 would have about $156 a week from their $50,000 of other savings until 65, then about $976 a week for life. Our retiring before 65 guide covers the options.
3. Write a retirement budget. Track what you actually spend for a few months. Our retirement budget guide has a template.
4. Get big costs done while earning. A roof, a car, a heat pump: these are easier from wages than from savings. Or add them to the calculator as one-off costs.
5. Think about how long the money needs to last. For a couple both 55, Stats NZ's cohort tables give about a 38% chance that at least one reaches 95. Our how long will I live guide has the odds.
6. Think about risk. A big market fall just before or after you retire does the most damage. Our sequence of returns risk guide explains why, and our fund type guide covers the choice of fund.

1 year out: line everything up

1. Apply for NZ Super. You can apply up to 12 weeks before your 65th birthday. If you apply on or before your birthday, you are paid from your birthday; otherwise from the date you apply. Our eligibility guide covers what you need.
2. Choose your tax code. If NZ Super is your main income, it uses the M code. If you keep working and your job pays more, NZ Super may go on a secondary code instead. Our NZ Super and tax guide explains which.
3. Decide what to do with KiwiSaver. From 65 you can withdraw all or part of it, or leave it invested. Our KiwiSaver at 65 guide sets out the choices.
4. Update your PIR. Your prescribed investor rate depends on your income in the last two years. Once your income drops, it may fall. Our tax on retirement savings guide shows the thresholds.
5. Choose a drawdown approach. Decide how you will take money from savings: the same amount each week, a percentage, guardrails, or spending down by an age. Our drawdown strategies guide compares them.
6. Set up a cash buffer. A year or two of the money you will draw from savings, in an easy-access account, lets you avoid selling investments after a fall.
7. Tell your employer. Under current law, employers do not have to keep contributing to KiwiSaver after 65. If you will keep working, ask what they will do.
8. Get your paperwork in order. Wills, enduring powers of attorney, and a list of accounts for your partner or family.

The first year of retirement

1. Check your first NZ Super payments. NZ Super is paid fortnightly. From 1 April 2026, a couple who both qualify get $1,708.16 a fortnight together after tax at M; a single person living alone gets $1,110.30.
2. Watch for the Winter Energy Payment. It is paid automatically from 1 May to 1 October: $31.82 a week for a couple, $20.46 for a single person with no dependent children. Averaged over a year, it adds about $13 a week to our example couple's pay. Our Winter Energy Payment guide has the details.
3. Track your spending against the plan. Some people spend more in the first years, on travel and projects. That is fine if it is planned. Our calculator already assumes spending falls after 75 and 85.
4. Review once a year. Re-run the calculator with your actual balances. If your savings have fallen below 80% of what your plan expected, the guardrails approach makes a 10% cut; if they are above 120%, a 10% rise. Our guardrails guide explains.
5. Keep inflation in mind. NZ Super rises each 1 April. Your savings need to keep up too. Our inflation in retirement guide covers how.
6. Consider part-time work. NZ Super has no income test, so wages add directly to your pay. Our working after 65 guide covers the tax.

Every year after that

Retirement plans need a light touch, not constant attention. Once a year is enough for most people:

• Update the calculator with your actual balances and spending, and save the plan so you can compare it with last year's.
• Check the new NZ Super rates after 1 April and your tax code if your income has changed.
• Look at the very poor market figure as well as the headline. If your plan only works in good markets, it is better to know early.
• Review your fund choice as your time horizon shortens.
• Keep your will, enduring powers of attorney and account list current.

Big changes in markets, health or family are the times to look again straight away rather than waiting for the annual check.

Life events that change the plan

Some things are worth a fresh look whenever they happen, at any stage:

• A lump sum, such as an inheritance or a property sale: see lump sums and inheritance.
• Moving house: see downsizing or renting in retirement.
• Moving overseas: see NZ Super and moving overseas.
• Losing a partner: see when a partner dies.
• A change in the law: proposals from the 2026 election, such as age 67, are NOT LAW. See our election guide.

This is general information, not financial advice. A licensed financial adviser can help you turn the checklist into a plan for your own situation.

Questions

When should I start planning for retirement?

As early as you can, but about ten years before is when the decisions become concrete and small changes still have time to add up. For our example couple at 55, $50 a week of extra saving adds about $14 a week to their pay for life.

When can I apply for NZ Super?

Up to 12 weeks before your 65th birthday. Apply on or before your birthday to be paid from it.

Should I take my KiwiSaver out at 65?

You do not have to. You can withdraw all, some or none of it, and leave the rest invested to draw on over time.

What should I check in my first year of retirement?

That your NZ Super and tax code are right, that your spending matches your plan, and that you have a cash buffer. Then review once a year.