Why the mouse had to go

Why the mouse had to go

After 16 years the Sorted mouse has taken some of his own financial advice and decided to live life large in retirement.

In his place is a new and improved Sorted, full of personalised tools and designed to work perfectly on mobiles and tablets, so that it reaches as many New Zealanders as possible.

We have put the user at the centre, providing a personalised interactive dashboard where they can keep track of their progress, whether that’s keeping to a budget, planning for their future, crunching their debt, boosting their KiwiSaver or buying a home.

A million people a year use the free website, which was originally designed for viewing on a desktop computer. To stay relevant and appeal to new, younger users, we’ve re-created it from the ground up so it’s mobile-friendly and easy to use, especially in moments like on the bus or waiting for the jug to boil.

Retirement Commissioner Diane Maxwell said: “It’s been designed around behaviour change principles so that we’re not telling people what to do or bombarding them with things we think they ought to know.

“Instead Sorted offers a menu of tools and content where you can decide what you want to snack on. It’s all about people taking charge of their choices to help them get to where they want to be.

“We have created a resource that we are really proud of and which we hope will benefit New Zealanders of all ages, backgrounds and at all stages of life.”

People will be able to see their personal dashboard, making the site uniquely about them and their goals. We’ve also developed a web-app focused on budgeting, which places people’s plans at their fingertips.

The Commission’s Glenn Martin, who has overseen the redevelopment, said: “It's all about seeing the future in a way that is valuable to you personally. For example instantly seeing the lifetime cost of your mortgage and the choices to bring that down.

“We all benefit from bringing a hazy future into focus through tools that help you predict your KiwiSaver balance or whether you’re on track for an enjoyable lifestyle beyond the age of 65.”

The development of Sorted will continue at pace, expanding the scope of the personal dashboard, enabling people to track their spending in the budgeting tool and adding new features that use the results of earlier tools to provide even faster insights.

As for the mouse, he’s promised to keep in touch and send the odd postcard from his new and exciting life away from work.

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