Research: Who is going to provide investments for the great unwashed p

For at least the past 18 months, New Zealanders have been bombarded with messages about the importance of saving, in particular saving for retirement. Despite these messages, there is little evidence to suggest that more people are saving than before (though those already saving, may actually be saving greater amounts).

More than a quarter of the adult population is neither retired, nor are they saving for retirement, and this figure is growing rather than declining. The superannuation debate and referendum of late 1997 had a significant effect on non-savers, with the proportion not saving falling from 32 per cent to 25 per cent in the last quarter of that year.

However, since then, there has been a 4 per cent rise across the year in the number of non-savers, despite the ongoing efforts to persuade people of the importance of saving for retirement.