Soup, Super and survival: The reality of growing old in NZ

Published by The Post, 20 July 2025

Soup, Super and survival: The reality of growing old in NZ | The Post

Irene Owen is making soup.

On Wednesday afternoon she reels off the recipe: celery, a few ham steaks, grated potato, carrot and kūmara; pop it in some water, add some stock and let it do its thing.

Eventually, it'll yield about seven delicious, healthy litres, says the New Plymouth pensioner, who uses her crockpot in the lounge because the kitchen is so cold.

"I'll probably be living on it for the next few months, that sounds really bloody sad doesn't it?"

While Owen, whose circumstances were previously reported by the Sunday Star-Times last year, isn’t actually complaining about her lot, she’s one of an increasing number of New Zealanders either struggling to make ends meet in retirement or worrying how far their savings will stretch.

And sad or not, their situation is far from unique. While the so-called golden years promise comfort and ease - that well-earned break of retirement - new research paints a far grimmer picture for many older Kiwis.

A new survey by the Retirement Commission, shared first with the Sunday Star-Times, reveals that financial confidence in retirement is worryingly low.

Around 40% of over-65s rely solely on superannuation to get by, and another 20% receive Super plus only a little more.

But few feel it’s enough. Only just over half of the1450 respondents felt even “somewhat” confident they’d saved enough, and a further 28% said they were “not too confident”.

Meanwhile, one in five expressed no confidence at all.

Lead researcher Dr Jo Gamble says the outlook is especially worrying for a group she describes as “hanging in there”: those who are neither poor nor comfortable.

“If we zero in on older people who are just scraping by, 76% said they felt some level of financial insecurity.”

“That includes people who are technically OK right now but still live with the fear of what might happen.”

Jim Whitelock is one of those people, though he is also quick to point out it’s not so much fear as a mild unease that keeps him awake at night.

Whitelock stopped working a decade ago when he was 67; five years later moving into a Kāpiti retirement village where he admits to treating his standalone townhouse "a bit like a hotel” he uses in-between visits to family and friends.

"Super is a nice-to-have but I can't imagine having to rely on that for everything. I've worked all my life to live like I do now."

More precisely, Whitelock and his wife Barbara did that, but after she died in 2021, the proceeds of their two houses, Jim's retirement scheme, and their combined savings now only provide for her husband.

"Of course I'd rather have Barbara, no doubt. I do feel guilty about her not getting to enjoy it all."

But he also feels guilty about the thought of using up all their money and not leaving any for their children to inherit.

“It’s that feeling of ‘Is my money going to run out before I die?’ and I’ve never been very good at maths or predicting the future.”

Minister for Seniors Casey Costello is unsurprised by the commission’s research findings, saying they again prove the worth of NZ Superannuation.

“NZ Superannuation provides an effective minimum income for older NZers but it’s far better if people have other income and assets to help them through retirement,” Costello tells the Star-Times.

“From a policy perspective it highlights the importance of NZ Super as a guaranteed income, especially for those who rely on it as their only income.”

Owen, of course, is one of them; not that she’s complaining. Instead, she operates on a strict budget, making the most of loyalty schemes and sales, and overpaying her monthly utility bills by $10 to give herself a break in December.

Or at least that’s what she always used to do. This year, with an ever-increasing electricity bill eating into her already-stretched bottom line, a bit of relief at Christmas is looking unlikely.

“I’m not struggling but I know that I have to stick to my budget, or I’ll get in the shit.

“Before Super I was living on another benefit which was a bit of struggle, now I’m living like a cat licking the cream.”

But Owen’s gratitude aside, Super was built around the assumption that people would be living as a couple in a mortgage-free home. For growing numbers of New Zealanders this isn’t the case, with more reaching 65 renting or with a mortgage.

Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson emphasises that while NZ Super provides a crucial safety net, it’s often not enough on its own.

"Already we’re seeing a growing number of older people needing to continue working longer because they still have mortgages to pay, are paying rent, or haven’t been able to save enough."

The commission recently released the Retirement Navigator » Sorted a free tool that helps people estimate how far their money will stretch. It combines Superannuation with savings to offer personalised scenarios.

For example, someone retiring at 75 with $150,000 in savings could draw down $36,000 a year - $27,000 from Super, $9000 from savings - if they wanted to spend more in the early years of retirement.

But not everyone with savings feels secure either. The Older People’s Voices 2024 Part 2 report found many asset-rich retirees were afraid to spend, gripped by fear of their savings running out. For a large number, the nest egg stays untouched - just in case.

Auckland pensioner Zoe Gibbs, 94, says she has enough to get by on, provided she doesn't need to go into care at her retirement village. After three hip replacements and one shoulder replacement, for her it’s a very real fear.

“If they shove me in care and do all sorts you're paying thousands,” she says.

“Then I would run out of money, so, that's the only thing, that's my only worry. I don't want to go over there.”

So Gibbs, who had an aunt who lived well past 100, is staying well away from her nest egg, in case there’s a medical disaster.

“Even the dentist, they reckon that costs hundreds now, I'm thinking ‘oh hell’, because I need to go to the dentist, and down here, some of them in the village say, ‘oh, that's going to be a thousand’.”

But while dental bills don’t discriminate, the factors for a worry-free retirement certainly appear to.

According to the commission’s new report, financially secure retirement is more likely if you’re not a woman, not disabled, not renting, not living alone, and not relying solely on Super.

Researcher Dr Jo Gamble is particularly concerned about retirees who are “hanging in there”.

Add in the ability to avoid late-life shocks - things like redundancy, illness, or separation - and you’re in a much stronger position.

The least worried are typically men without disabilities who own their homes outright, live with a partner, have income beyond Super, and have managed to sidestep major upheavals after the age of 50.

But women fare worse than men across almost every measure. They tend to live longer, accumulate less in savings and assets due to the gender pay gap and years taken out of the workforce for caregiving, and are more likely to be renting.

Dot Hutton holds the dubious honour of falling into all of the latter, and much of the previous not-to-bes.

“I tick nearly every box,” says the 82-year old Masterton woman, who the Star-Times previously spoke to in 2022. “I’m female, live alone, renting, and I’ve only got the pension to live on.

“The only thing I’ve dodged is a disability - though the arthritis does make itself known every now and then.”

Hutton has never owned a home, and wasn’t able to get a mortgage after her husband died in 1990, aged only 49.

Now in her 80s she’s grateful for having “an excellent” landlord, though rent swallows much of her fortnightly payment. She also has access to a small overdraft but is determined to avoid debt.

“I had a humongous car bill a few years ago but Income Support helped.

“They paid it off, and now I pay them back 10 bucks a week, interest-free. I just try not to go backwards.”

And backwards, especially later in life, is a dangerous place to go.

Back to Gamble, the report’s author, who says research shows things are likely to be getting worse for some people, particularly those who don’t own their home.

“Home-ownership levels are declining, and more people are entering retirement with significant ongoing accommodation costs (either as rent or mortgages), and there hasn't been any closing of the gender pay or retirement savings gaps in recent years.”

“For people on low incomes, completely reliant on NZ Super, the economic changes over the past few years have meant more than just tightening the belt; it’s become a matter of day-to-day survival.”

At the worst end of the spectrum are older New Zealanders who can’t afford housing at all, and with women already disadvantaged in the financial stakes, its perhaps unsurprising that they’re also over-represented in the housing stats.

Victoria Crockford, director of the Coalition to End Women’s Homelessness (CEWH), says homelessness among older women is a growing concern.

Official statistics show there are 57,576 severely housing deprived women; several thousand more than there are men.

It’s likely even worse than that.

“Housing in Aotearoa New Zealand in 2025, confirms our position that women's homelessness is more prevalent than men's, but is more hidden,” Crockford says.

“From our research, we know that older women are one of the most at-risk groups when it comes to homelessness; the scale of which is deeply concerning, particularly for older women, who are often invisible in the data but highly visible to those working on the front lines.”

There were nearly four times more people aged 65 and over on the state housing wait list now than in 2018, according to Ministry of Social Development data.

Housing providers and frontline kaimahi reported an increase in older women struggling to find safe, affordable homes, CEWH research found.

“Often these women are coming straight from private rentals or even home-ownership, but simply can’t make rent with Super or their savings,” says Crockford.

“Homelessness among older women in Aotearoa is growing, and without a dedicated women’s homelessness action plan, the crisis will only deepen.”

Yet even for folks lucky enough to not be renting, falling house prices have seen a fall-off in those who can afford a retirement village.

“The current slowdown in the real estate market is having an impact,” says Michelle Palmer, Retirement Villages Association executive director.

“Many residents need to sell their family home to access the capital required to move to a village.

“While living in the village is often financially advantageous, market conditions are making it harder for some people to move into villages.

“That said, when a person is able to sell and move to a village, they often can experience greater financial freedom. By downsizing and releasing equity from their homes, many residents enjoy more flexibility and security in their retirement years.”

Village operators are mindful of the pressures facing retirees and helping to provide financial certainty, she says.

“Operators work hard to make villages affordable for New Zealanders from all walks of life. Many village residents only have their national superannuation to live on.”

Labour MP Ingrid Leary, who has drafted a bill to force retirement villages to pay capital sums to residents moving to higher care levels or families once a resident dies, says for seniors, “every day is hard –especially for those who rent”.

“The idea that we can solve this crisis and reduce those needs by taking away their income, their superannuation, for two years - National’s proposed solution - makes no sense.

What’s needed is a sustainable package for seniors that looks at the cost of health, housing, transport and so on, Leary says.

“But the best this Budget 2025 offered was a $0.29 cent per week increase in the reduction in rates bills which is not even enough for a one-way bus ticket.

“We need a good KiwiSaver scheme, not cuts to youth eligibility and Government contributions, not tax cuts, which are coming straight out of the pockets of people who will need it in future, alongside those desperately needing funds now.”

Lawrence Xu-Nan, Green Party spokesperson for seniors, also says that much more could be done to support communities.

“With strong public services for everyone on top of universal superannuation, we can give people the retirement they deserve.”

Among those services, the Greens propose providing universal free dental care and GP visits, while building enough public homes for those who need them, Xu-Nan says.

“We would also look at regulating retirement villages and rest homes to ensure they are putting community need first, not profit.

“Retirement should be a time of peace, not struggle.”

And although nobody can argue with that sentiment, what do we do in the meantime?

Jane Wrightson, the retirement commissioner, says our superannuation scheme underpins a stable and consistent retirement income system.

“NZ Super is especially important for those people with disabilities, carers, those with irregular periods of paid work, and the low-paid. In many cases it can provide a greater level of financial security than they may have experienced before.”

But Kiwis have low levels of private retirement savings, she says.

“It’s never too early to start planning for your retirement. How much you need to save will depend on your own circumstances, but the sooner you start, the better the position you’ll be in when you eventually stop working.”

More than 82% of pensioners also have other taxable income which totalled $33.6 billion in the last full financial year, recently released figures reveal.

Wrightson says every little bit helps.

“While NZ Super can help get you by, it's your own savings and investments through the likes of KiwiSaver that will help to make retirement more comfortable and enjoyable.”

And finally, for those of us without either savings or investments, it’s not all bad news. Maybe, just maybe, comfort and enjoyment is all about what you make of it.

Back in Masterton, Dot Hutton says life is pretty good. Her car is fixed, her landlord and bank manager are kind, and her arthritis - or “Arthur“ - could be a heck of a lot worse.

“I don’t struggle, not really. I might be dead tomorrow so I enjoy what I’ve got.

“I watch the news and think, ‘Thank God I live in New Zealand.’ It really is the best place in the world.”