Planning after 65

When there’s no single definition of retirement

Age 65 has traditionally been seen as the point where people stop working.
In practice, that’s no longer how life unfolds for many of our clients.

Some continue working for the mental stimulation, structure, and connection it brings. Others are ready to step back, or to change how and when they work. Many sit somewhere in between, adjusting gradually rather than making a clean break.

What changes after 65 isn’t people’s capability, but the shape of the decisions they face.

Income often comes from more than one place. Work, New Zealand Super, KiwiSaver, and investments begin to interact in new ways. Choices about spending, saving, and risk become more connected, and mistakes can take longer to unwind.

Life rarely becomes simpler.

Health, family responsibilities, housing decisions, and work continue to overlap, regardless of age.

Good planning at this stage isn’t about optimisation or precision.

It’s about ensuring the structure you already have still works, and understanding where there is flexibility — and where there isn’t.

For many people, the most valuable outcome isn’t a detailed projection.

It’s clarity.

Confidence in the decisions they’re making, and reassurance that their financial arrangements support the way they actually want to live.