New Zealand

Research into pension planning strategies

15:17 pm on 10 February 2015

Researchers at the University of Canterbury will try to find out if KiwiSaver clients are making the best choices with their money.

Almost 60 percent of KiwiSaver money is invested in conservative assets, the researchers said

The researchers said there had been complaints in the past that KiwiSaver schemes often follow conservative investment patterns and this could affect the amount of money they make.

Christina Atanasova, a visiting fellow from Canada's Simon Fraser University, said they hope to find whether people are setting themselves up well for retirement.

"So we're hoping to be able to see whether there will be enough money for retirement, conditional on how you've invested and how much you've contributed.

"First you have to contribute enough, and then you have to make wise choices when you allocate the money."

Dr Atanasova said there are concerns as to how well individual savers make their own decisions on allocating assets.