Retirees are "suffering in silence" as the cost-of-living struggles continue to bite, according to Age Concern.
Around 40% of retired New Zealanders have to get by on their pension alone – a maximum of $496.37 a week for a single person living alone.
Unlike previous generations, many don't own their own homes. To balance the budget in a cost-of-living crisis, something inevitably must give.
Age Concern chief executive Karen Billings-Jensen told Breakfast while last night’s Sunday story on retirees struggling to make ends meet “would have been quite shocking for a lot of people".
She said "it is the reality that we see quite often”. Her major concern is around "those that are suffering in silence".
Billings-Jensen said: "We know that a lot of older people are living on their own and simply may not even be telling anyone how hard it is for them".
She said while 40% of people are relying on superannuation as their only source of income, a further 20% “will have very little”.
“With the accommodation supplement basically not kicking in if you have more than $8000 saved, as it is currently, that’s not a lot on top. If you’re living for another 20 years, $8000 savings isn’t going to go very far.”
Unlike previous generations, many don’t own their own homes. To balance the budget in a cost-of-living crisis, something inevitably has to give. (Source: Sunday)
Billings-Jensen said an increasing number of Kiwis are putting their KiwiSaver contributions on hold.
"We know that they're needing to make financial decisions but there is a flow-on effect and I think that was the message as well – save while you can.
"But it’s very hard, again, with some of the cost-of-living challenges at the moment.”
Marie Stanley, a 70-year-old who raised two kids as a solo mum, told the Sunday show she “could feel myself starting to cry because I just couldn’t afford a piece of fish”.
“It makes me feel like I don’t count anymore. It makes me feel like I’m not managing my money enough and it makes me feel like I can’t afford to eat healthy anymore,” she said, becoming emotional.
When Sunday visited her east Auckland home, Stanley had $1.86 to last until the next pension day.
"I think that there are thousands of us out there who are going through this every single day," she said. "We're not all rich Baby Boomers.
"It's not just about child poverty - there's aged poverty as well."
Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson told Sunday the concept of retirement has changed.
"New Zealand Super is predicated on either you owning your own home outright – meaning you've got quite low housing costs – or you have affordable public housing," Wrightson said.
She said the country currently has "the lowest home ownership rates since 1953 at the moment", with around 600,000 pensioners predicted to be renting by 2048.
"This problem is going to get worse before it gets better."
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