Retirement Income and Financial Market Participation in New Zealand

Using New Zealand Household Economic Survey (HES) 2018 data, we examine the impact of direct financial market participation post-retirement on retirement income in New Zealand. Our results demonstrate the importance of post-retirement financial market participation in the enhancement of retirees’ fi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Xiaobo Xu, Martin Young, Liping Zou, Jiali Fang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-01-01
Series:International Journal of Financial Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7072/11/1/24
Description
Summary:Using New Zealand Household Economic Survey (HES) 2018 data, we examine the impact of direct financial market participation post-retirement on retirement income in New Zealand. Our results demonstrate the importance of post-retirement financial market participation in the enhancement of retirees’ financial well-being. We conclude that retirees who participate in the financial market enjoy a 78% increase in overall annuitised net wealth; further analysis also reveals a substantial 154% increase if government pensions are excluded from calculations of annuitised net wealth. Moreover, these retiree participants also show higher probabilities of financial-situation satisfaction. These results highlight the significant contribution to retirement income of direct financial market participation. Our paper sheds extra light on issues related to retirement financial well-being and has important implications for policy makers in New Zealand.
ISSN:2227-7072