More than half of people saving for their retirement are not confident they will reach their goals, according to a survey by ANZ.
The bank questioned more than 1,200 people and found that two thirds are saving for their retirement but just over half are not confident they will reach their savings goals.
Those aged between 15 and 25 are less confident about their ability to save than they were three months ago.
ANZ says a third of respondents had no retirement savings at all, and of those that didn't, a third are relying on inheritances or property and business investments to fund their retirement.
The managing director of ANZ wealth and private banking, John Body, says young people often wrongly believe they would not be able to save $500,000, which would give them about $450 extra a week in retirement.
Mr Body says the goal is achievable for a 20-year-old making minimum contributions over their savings lifetime.
Conservative KiwiSaver default accounts
Mr Body believes people's lack of confidence in their ability to save enough for retirement may be linked to the fact that KiwiSaver default accounts are automatically directed into conservative growth funds.
KiwiSaver clients who do not choose which type of savings strategy they want are automatically enrolled in conservative funds, provided by six government-approved providers.
Mr Body believes this has lead to the growing gap between savers' aspirations and their confidence in achieving them.
He advocates a life staged approach which suggests that a younger person's assets should be more targetted towards growth, but as a person moves towards retirement their assets should be progressively less exposed to growth assets and more exposed to conservative assets.
Mr Body says all KiwiSaver members are currently defaulted to a conservative portfolio and many of them stay there for 40 years.
