26/05/2026
Women inherit twice - and then fire their spouse’s financial adviser.
Following on from my post last Friday - The Great NZ Wealth Transfer is coming, and who do you think it transfers to most of the time? Women.
Between now and 2050, as much as $1.6 trillion of inheritance is expected to be handed down from Baby Boomers to the next generation.
The median age of death for NZ men is 78, and for women it’s 83. If you were born and died in NZ, this extends to 86 for women and 84 for men.
But statistically, men are usually 2-3 years older than their wives in NZ, which means women are in their mid‑to‑late 70s when they are widowed - and widowed for longer.
According to historic Stats NZ cohort reporting, about one‑third of Kiwi women aged 65-74 are widowed. This climbs drastically to four‑fifths (80%) for women aged 85 and over.
This means women inherit from their own parents most often between the ages of 50 and 65, and then again in their mid‑to‑late 70s. And the first thing many do? Fire their spouse’s financial adviser and choose their own.
It’s imperative that, as women, we understand our own finances - and those of our family - early, especially long‑term retirement savings like KiwiSaver, because we stand to inherit twice. And we need our own financial advisers on our side from a young age.
As Kiwis, we are notoriously shy about asking questions about finance and money, but it’s so important - for both sexes - to have knowledge and advice on your side at all stages of life, especially as we age.
I am now able to help clients with their KiwiSaver and investment goals, and I am really enjoying it. Eighty percent of New Zealanders, when surveyed, couldn’t tell you where their KiwiSaver was invested, or what it was invested in. And the gap in knowledge for women is noticeably larger.
My goal is to help everyone I meet understand their KiwiSaver better, and test its performance against the rest of the market, through my easy 10‑question survey.
It takes 90 seconds and is the litmus test to make sure you’re on the right track.
Reach out for yours now: [email protected]
