Research reveals Māori on the back foot in retirement years

Thursday, 20 October 2022

Inequality is causing ongoing hardship for tangata whenua in their later years.

They are supposed to be the golden years, but new research has highlighted the difficult reality Māori face heading into retirement.

A set of four papers released by Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission have revealed the widespread social and economic disparities Māori face during retirement.

The in-depth research found the impacts of colonisation, land theft and inequality had caused ongoing hardship for tangata whenua in their later years.

One of the papers described how lower life expectancy meant kaumātua received NZ Superannuation for fewer years compared to their non-Māori counterparts.

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Māori also tended to have lower KiwiSaver balances as a result of earning less throughout their lives.

“By properly understanding retirement through the worldviews of Māori, it should then be possible to develop good policies and related activities to improve outcomes for Māori in retirement,” Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson said.

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It wasn’t all doom and gloom though, the research also described how kaumātua were seen as a vital part of the community.

Younger Māori viewed them as pillars of support with strong knowledge bases and links to the past.

The papers explained

The first paper considered how history and politics had impacted the development of policy within government.

It discussed the impacts of this on kaumātua, concluding that a one-size-fits-all approach to retirement income policy ran the risk of becoming a form of confiscation for Māori.

Paper two was funded by the Ministry of Health and gave an overview of recent research into what retirement looked like for Māori in modern day Aotearoa.

It said that “taking a break” was not a general feature of retirement for Māori, who often spent their time caring for whānau, the wider community, hapū and iwi.

Karanga Metekingi, 92, who lives in Porirua city, is a perfect example of that. Her home is close to Takapūwāhia Marae, where, she says, she is called to attend hui of every kind.

“When the marae has tangi or pōwhiri, they want us to go down. So we go down to support our families.”

This mahi aroha could involve caring for younger generations, and was traditionally returned through home care for kaumātua.

“The negative impact of colonialism and racism on the health and wellbeing of Māori compared to non-Māori is clear, both in terms of lower life expectancy and the early onset of age-related illness, as well as lower wealth and higher levels of poverty,” said the commission in a statement.

The third paper looked at how retirement policy, alongside things like KiwiSaver and superannuation impacted Māori.

It considered how lower life expectancy meant Māori received superannuation for fewer years than non-Māori.

“Despite its limitations in coverage, KiwiSaver plays a bigger part in lifetime asset accumulation for Māori than non-Māori,” said the commission.

“But Māori are less likely to obtain the potential benefits that KiwiSaver provides, because of lower take up rates and lower average incomes.”

The fourth and final paper discussed personal experiences of Māori in retirement or approaching it.

Kaumātua reflected how their taxes helped to fund the NZ Super, but many never lived long enough to reap the benefits.

They also spoke of how many lived in poverty in their own whenua and refused to plan for retirement due to higher mortality rates between the age of 30 and 50 years.

Te Ara Ahunga Ora kaihautῡ, and co-author of the fourth paper, Erin Thompson (Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Ngāti Tiipa) said the research highlighted how the economic circumstances of kāumatua were generations in the making.

“The role of the state in contributing to the creation of this outcome profile has been significant,” she said.

“No single review of retirement income policy will be able to adequately address and unpick the multiple layers that generations of inequity have created.”

Any efforts to transform the lives of older Māori would take short, medium, and long-term strategic thinking, warned Thompson, along with structural, institutional and personal behavioural change.