Many people do not expect to have saved enough for a decent retirement.

The majority of New Zealanders worry they are long-term poor, despite getting by day-to-day.

BNZ's Wellbeing Report shows six in 10 fear their wealth and income today will not prevent them from slipping into a life of bare-bones hardship in retirement.

"While not having enough money for an emergency is the most common form of financial hardship, having insufficient wealth to fund a desirable lifestyle in retirement is the biggest cause of ongoing financial stress among New Zealanders," author and BNZ economist Paul Conway said.

DENIS ISMAGILOV/123RF The majority of people tend to amass wealth as they get older.

This fear was pervasive across Kiwis, with 60 per cent of people believing they would have "not quite enough" or "not nearly enough" savings on retirement, he said.

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It was unclear whether fears for the long-term sustainability of New Zealand Super was contributing to this feeling their wealth was not sustainable, as BNZ's surveying did not ask people why they felt they would not have enough money in retirement.

While NZ Super, which is not means-tested, is the foundation of wealth for most Kiwis post-65, already surveys show many people did not believe NZ Super is enough to live on.

One New Zealand Institute of Economic Research survey from 2017 indicated just 19 per cent of people thought NZ Super was sufficient to live on without private wealth.

But that same survey also indicated just 46 per cent of people aged 45-54, and just 37 per cent of people aged 35-44, thought it would either be "very likely" or "quite likely" NZ Super would remain unchanged.

Conway said there was an impression that just having a house made a person rich.

"A lot of people feel if you have a house, you are wealthy, but you have also got to live somewhere, and liquidate that wealth when the time comes," Conway said.

Ironically, low interest rates, which had helped drive up house prices, were putting pressure on the idea of ordinary people being able to amass sufficient wealth to sustain desirable lifestyles when they stop work.

"As interest rates fall, you are getting a low return. That's putting pressure on that idea," Conway said.

Many New Zealanders lacked much in the way of financial assets anyway, and more people were reaching retirement with mortgages, he said.

Calculations by Massey University researcher Claire Matthews showed a two-person household living in a city would need to have saved $787,000 to fund a "choices" lifestyle, while a couple living in the provinces would need to have saved $493,000.

The figures assumed people would consume all their capital during their retirements.

"While the lump sum required to fund the difference in spending over New Zealand Superannuation can seem daunting, it can be reduced by continuing to work either full or part-time, or by delaying retirement for a couple of years," Matthews said.

SUPPLIED Claire Matthews, Massey University.

"If you delayed your retirement for two years, continued working and saved all your NZ Superannuation payments, it would make a significant impact to your retirement nest egg."

Conway's research showed there were clear patterns of who believed they would not have sufficient lifetime wealth for a decent life.

People with household incomes of less than $100,000, and women, were the most pessimistic.

"Women are more pessimistic about their ability to fund retirement," Conway wrote. "Only 25 per cent expect to have 'more than enough' or 'sufficient' wealth on retirement compared to 37 per cent for men."

Many people answered BNZ's polling with "I don't know" when asked whether they would have enough for a decent retirement.

On a national scale, New Zealand's low productivity was a key challenge to lifting incomes, Conway said.

"Growth in the average income of New Zealanders has been low in international comparison for decades," he says.

But he also lamented low levels of financial capability, though acknowledged financial decision-making were hard.

DIY RETIREMENT PLANNERS

* Sorted retirement planner from government-funded Commission for Financial Capability.

* ANZ KiwiSaver calculator

* Kiwi Wealth Future You calculator

* AMP's KiwiSaver "journey" tool