How to find a NZ financial adviser for a retirement village decision
You don't need an adviser to move into a retirement village — but for a $400k–$1M+ decision involving KiwiSaver, NZ Super, tax, estate planning, and possible DHB care subsidies, an hour with a specialist is one of the highest-leverage things you can do.
What a financial adviser does for you here
A FAP-licensed (Financial Advice Provider) adviser specialising in retirement looks at the full picture, not just the village brochure. They model:
- ·Your cashflow through retirement — NZ Super + KiwiSaver drawdown + other investments after tax, tested against village weekly fees and likely care costs
- ·The Deferred Management Fee in real dollars — what it costs you (or your estate) at 5, 10, 15-year departure scenarios
- ·NZ tax treatment — PIE rates, NZ Super stacking, KiwiSaver post-65 withdrawals, DMF non-deductibility
- ·DHB Residential Care Subsidy means-test — when (if ever) you'd qualify and how the family home is treated
- ·Estate-planning impact — how the DMF affects what you leave to family
- ·Alternatives — staying home with in-home care, reverse mortgage, Lifetime Home equity release
They produce a written Statement of Advice (SOA) — required under the FSLAA 2019 regulatory regime — that lays out their recommendations on your letterhead, their letterhead. You take that to your lawyer alongside the contract review.
Where to find a NZ adviser
Two places to start. FinanceAdvisersNZ is a directory of every NZ FAP-licensed adviser, filterable by retirement-planning specialism. The FMA Financial Service Provider register is the official government register — useful for verifying an adviser's licence and disciplinary history before you engage.
FinanceAdvisersNZ →
Directory of every NZ FAP-licensed adviser. Filter by location and retirement-planning specialism.
FMA Financial Service Provider register →
The official government register. Check an adviser's licence and any disciplinary history before engaging.
How this site fits in
This site (CompareRetirementVillages.co.nz) is free public information drawn from official records — Companies Office filings, Health NZ certifications, operator disclosures. Some NZ advisers also use a paid analytical tool we make to speed up their cost modelling and contract decode; if yours does, you may see a small reference to us in their report. Either way, once you've engaged an adviser, they own the advice and the recommendation — we're just one of the data sources they draw on.
What to ask the adviser before engaging
Confirm via the FMA register. A general financial adviser may not have done retirement-village ORA contract analysis before.
Fee-only advisers (charging a fixed fee) are generally considered most independent for retirement-village advice — there's no commission flowing from village operators to advisers in NZ, so fee-only or hourly is the norm.
Specialism matters here. An adviser who's done 10+ in the last year will know the operator-specific contract terms cold.
Look for advisers who use specialist analytical tools (including ours) rather than spreadsheets. The depth of analysis matters — every village has different DMF accrual schedules, weekly fee escalation, and capital gain treatment.
A written SOA is required under FSLAA 2019 if they're giving regulated advice. Confirm what's included before engaging.
What it typically costs in NZ
Retirement-village adviser engagements are usually flat-fee or hourly. Typical ranges:
Ranges based on 2025 NZ fee surveys + Sorted's published guidance. Always agree the fee in writing before engaging.
Don't forget the lawyer
Under the Retirement Villages Act 2003, you must get independent legal advice from a lawyer before signing an Occupation Right Agreement. The financial adviser models the numbers; the lawyer reviews the contract clauses.
Find a NZ elder lawyer for ORA review →