How much capital do I need to retire comfortably on ?

[Bjauck]

Life unfortunately is never fair.
My wife's mother is in a nursing home with dementia.She worked as a machinist all her life.No family trust, means her house will have to be sold in the not too distant future, to pay for her care as her investment money is nearly gone.
We are now "comfortable " [well positioned] and the rainy day funds we have on deposit, which matures in May,are going to pay off the daughter's mortgage.The amount of interest, after tax, we have been receiving we can do without.

Life is not fair. However that is not a reason not to action over situations which we/government have a measure of influence and can try to make fairer. Also, when the government is trying to encourage people to save for their retirement, they could increase the incentives...

But then again, with many wealthy people who have their assets in long-established trusts, there have been few avenues for them to recoup long-term residential costs. Hence the increasingly tough trust "look-through" provisions in many areas, ranging from social welfare to matrimonial property (I think). Tougher look-throughs in a wide range of situations would tend to negate many benefits of trusts. It also raises the question as to why should family trusts enable some people to be able to circumvent government tax and social policy anyway? Trust law and retention of benefit from settled assets by the settlor needs to be examined, IMO. NZ has liberal trust laws which allow settlors to retain control over, use and benefit from assets settled on trust.