No country for the over 50s?

Saturday, 30 August 2025

A new survey has revealed a largely invisible epidemic and the “disappearing” of a big chunk of Kiwis.

They are the “boomer precariat”, the Kiwis who grew up in through the 70s, but now find themselves living a life not expected.

They are renters, they are home owners, many are single, they are our parents, they are our grandparents. Some are vulnerable and frail at 60, others are robust, still running in their 90s.

Released earlier this month the New Zealand Seniors Quality of Life Report reveals “older” New Zealanders ‒ whatever their situation ‒are increasingly anxious about their financial future with the soaring cost of living, insufficient savings and the cost of healthcare cited as major concerns by seven out of ten of those surveyed.

Alongside that nearly one in two feel lonelier now compared to two years ago.

The survey (of 510 over 50s) helps dispel the popular myths of cashed up, property-owning older Kiwis jetting off on sun-soaked cruises and partying around the retirement village pool.

Money worries dominate: cost of living pressures (68%) insufficient savings (59%) and healthcare expenses (54%) are the biggest factors affecting well-being, with 70% feeling uncertain about their financial future and nearly two-thirds fretting about their current situation.

Of those still working (around 60% of seniors have little or no additional income apart from NZ Super) almost three-quarters (73%) are worried they’re not on track for a comfortable retirement.

Meanwhile, that comfortable or otherwise retirement is looking increasingly further away with the expected retirement age climbing from 65 to nearly 70 years over the past decade.

The renter

Social housing tenant Peter Hooper is 69. He survives solely on his pension. He’s just checked in with ChatGP as to where someone with his financial profile might be in three years. You don’t want to know, he says.

Unlike working tenants, who receive an income-related rent subsidy (generally set at 25% of their net income), Hooper’s is set at 70% of the market rate, with his rent now more than double that of neighbours in similar units.

He gets around $100 a week in accommodation supplement, but only because he has less than $8100 in assets ‒ an arbitrary limit set some 30 years ago.

“When I moved in 2007 I can honestly say things were better, much better. My life only works now because I have friends who will give me a meal or help me out in some way.

“Then there’s organisations … some of them are church based, some are not. Kaibosh, for example, distributes food. If you take those away, then I am doomed.”

He has enormous empathy for others in similar situations. “I can’t imagine that people on New Zealand Super, if that’s their sole income, could possibly pay private rents”

And for those in the “asset rich, cash poor” cohort.

“I'm part of a generation who, by and large, were extremely lucky. Everything during our younger years, through the 70s and 80s, looked bloody marvellous. The optimism was just euphoric.

“But I think what happened for our generation was that we made assumptions about what society can and can't provide … and I think a lot of those assumptions aren't true.

“Certainly my situation has precarious qualities, but so do people who own their own home. How do they manage that asset, fund repairs, how do they keep that personal family wealth to pass on to their children?”

Hooper isn’t about to challenge any of the survey’s findings, pointing out that while concerning, the results reflect reality, albeit not one he particularly wants to dwell on.

“I get the impression that there’s a kind of disappearing process for the elderly. Maybe there is an assumption that everything is okay, that people have enough money, that most people own their own homes. The state is willing to look after 2% of the population ‒ the people at the very bottom ‒ but there is actually a real problem going from your 2% all the way up to people who can supposedly fund themselves.

“Politicians know about this. What’s concerning is they don’t seem to be willing to do anything”.

And that ChatGPT revelation? “I want to believe that in three years time huge numbers of pensioners are not going to be living on Wellington footpaths.”

The cost of everything

Stephen Opie, chief executive of Age Concern Wellington, has a roll-call of sobering facts.

Between the 2013 and 2023 censuses, the number of people over 65 in the Wellington region increased by 30%, while the number of under-20s dropped by 3%; older people (aged 65 plus) make up about 17% of New Zealand’s total population, by 2028, that number is expected to reach one million; the branch’s community support line gets 2000 calls a year from under pressure older Kiwis.

”Rates, housing, insurance, transport, electricity, health, the cost of everything, elder abuse .. .there are some really complex concerns.”

Loneliness, too, is widespread. Almost half of those surveyed say they feel lonelier now than they did two years ago, while one in six older New Zealanders regularly go a week without speaking to anyone.

Those figures reflect what’s going on globally ‒ the World Health Organisation goes so far as to call the impact of loneliness and isolation, which can have a serious impact on physical and mental health, quality of life, and longevity, a hidden emergency.

Age Concern regularly fields calls from people who apologise for their croaky voices ‒ simply because they haven’t used them in days: “You don't see isolated and lonely seniors in your community, but they are everywhere.”

That said, the survey demonstrates the demographic is not one homogeneous group. Says Opie: “We treat over 65s as a whole, we tend to think of a 65 year old the same as a 95 year old. We don’t treat one year olds and 30 year olds the same.”

Like Hooper, Opie believes the widely-held perceptions of retirees as financially-sorted home owners swanning off on cruises serves no-one.

The homeowner

Janet Russell would be considered “comfortably” well off. At 68 she has her own home ‒ two beds, two baths ‒ built specially to accommodate an “over 60 year old”.

However, she also has a reverse mortgage ‒ required to complete the house ‒ and hosts an international student, not only to maintain a level of financial “comfort” but as needed extra income. “My rates bill and food bills are much greater than I expected.”

Russell’s first husband died in his 50s from cancer, exacerbated by the constraints of transplant medication, and after 17 years of unemployment and part-time work. It was tough, she says.

“Our son, when in primary school, was once asked by one of his ‘more prosperous’ friends what it was like being poor. He replied, ‘The same as you, just without money’.”

Her second husband left her the money for the house, which Russell had built after not being able to find a suitably-sized one.

“I am attempting to budget for living on ‘the pension’. This is proving to be emotionally hard, as, after 40 years of making do, we had 10 years of enjoying travel and relaxing into retirement … before the reality check of being an older solo.

“On the positive side, my new build is well insulated and therefore my heating bills are lower than many of my friends’ and, after growing up in the 60s and 70s, I know how to ‘make do and mend’. I can even live with fewer luxuries such as travel and the more expensive foods, like butter.”

Russell volunteers, helping out at several community organisations, including the City Mission. According to Stats NZ, nearly 60% of people aged 65 to 74 , and more than 40% of people aged 75-plus volunteer in their communities at least semi-regularly.

Russell has minimal house and contents insurance and doesn’t own a car. She can’t afford health insurance ‒ “health care is backed by crossed fingers” ‒ and “hopes and prays” her health continues to be good; she and her friends no longer meet at cafés for a coffee and catch-up, instead “we have reverted to our mothers’ ways of gathering at each others’ homes”.

Compared to the rest of the world she reckons New Zealand is still a pretty good place to grow old, although that comes with a caveat.

“Government, both locally and nationally, does need to restore a closer wealth balance and remember that there are vital services to be maintained such as (renewable) power, broad and affordable health services, clean water, safe housing for all and public transport before spending on ‘extras’. We have to remember that we have very few citizens paying taxes for all of this. So either we all pay the same (higher) level of taxes, or we cope with what we have.”

Changing the mindset

Gayle Chambers, national president of Grey Power, points to the survey’s findings around health care as a major concern. Nearly one in two respondents reported having faced long wait times for specialists or hospital care, with the longest waiting times averaging 108 days, and 55% had delayed or considered delaying medical care due to cost.

Ultimately, like most things, it all comes down to money.

“We very fortunate in this country that we do have a superannuation scheme. Some countries certainly don't, but the superannuation that we get allows people to exist. It's not there for people to have the preferred lifestyle.”

She, Opie, Russell and Hooper all agree there needs to be a shift in the mindset that sees “oldies” as either “boomer vultures” or as vulnerable and a burden on society, hence somehow less important than any other age group.

Chambers also mentions the army of volunteers caring for grandchildren, supporting charities, and helping out in emergencies, without whom the country would certainly be worse off.

Meanwhile Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson said the report echoed its research. “Many older New Zealanders are indeed feeling ‘battered from every angle’, and the sense of financial precariousness is real and growing.”

Life shocks such as divorce or the death of a partner, a major health bill, or rising housing and utility costs could quickly unravel what might otherwise appear to be a stable situation. she said.

“With an ageing population, and the growing numbers of people that may struggle to have enough saved, the need for policies that support dignity, security and wellbeing in later life is more important than ever.”

Results of a first-of-its-kind survey of Kiwis aged over 55, carried out by The New Zealand Policy Research Institute at Auckland University of Technology and funded by the Ministry of Social Development, are currently being collated. They will be used to help improve understanding of issues faced by older people and support policy development to better meet community needs.