Op Ed on older persons poverty by NZCCSS Kaiwhakahaere Matua | Executive Officer Alicia Sudden, featured in The Post.
OPINION: In 1938, when the Social Security Act was introduced,PrimeMinister Michael Joseph Savage declared that New Zealanders would soon enjoy “a condition of social security unsurpassed in any other country of the world”.
It was an ambitious vision. The idea wasn’t that life would be free from hardship, but that as a country we would look after one another through life’s greatest challenges. From the cradle to the grave, every New Zealander should have the security of knowing they would be supported if life circumstances changed.
Nearly 90 years later, that vision is worth revisiting.
It reflects a value that reaches beyond politics:the belief that everyone deserves to age with security, free from poverty.
The release of the inaugural Older Persons Poverty Monitor gives us, for the first time, a comprehensive picture of poverty in later life. It asks an important question: are we still living up to that shared aspiration?
The findings suggest we have work to do.
Almost one in five New Zealanders aged 65 and over – around168,000 people – are delaying visits to a doctor or dentist because they cannot afford the cost. Around 25,000 older people are living in material hardship, going without essential items needed for a decent standard of living.
We know that many older New Zealanders enjoy secure and fulfilling retirements. But until now, we have not had a complete picture of those who do not. The Monitor helps make that hardship visible.
Turning 65 does not erase the circumstances people carry with them through life.
Housing affordability, income, health and social connection do not suddenly reset at retirement; they accumulate over decades, shaping how people experience later life.
The Monitor also reminds us that older New Zealanders are not one homogenous group. Women, Māori and Pacific peoples experience higher levels of poverty and hardship, reflecting the inequalities that can shape people’s lives long before they reach retirement.
Housing is another important part of this picture. For decades, financial stability in retirement has rested on the assumption that people own the home they live in. As home ownership declines and more New Zealanders reach retirement while renting or facing higher housing costs, financial insecurity in later life is likely to become more common unless we respond.
Good decisions start with good evidence. We can’t solve problems we don’t properly understand.
The Monitor moves the conversation beyond anecdotes, establishing the baseline we’ve been missing and making visible the hardship that too often goes unseen.
New Zealand has already recognised that poverty needs to be visible if we are serious about reducing it. The introduction of legislated child poverty reporting created a clearer picture of children’s experiences of hardship anda way to track progress over time. The Older Persons Poverty Monitor applies that same principle to older people, creating the foundation for greater understanding and accountability.
What we measure, we can track. What we track,we can change.
This isn’t about assigning blame. Governments of all stripes have introduced initiatives to improve the lives of older New Zealanders. But without a clear national commitment to reducing this hardship, too many people will continue to fall through the cracks.
Nearly nine decades after Savage’s promise, our shared responsibility remains the same: ensuring people are supported through life’s risks–including poverty in later life– and that no one is left extremely vulnerable in their later years.
Growing old should not mean disappearing from New Zealand’s poverty conversation. If we believe every New Zealander deserves security and respect, that principle cannot expire on someone’s 65th birthday.
As New Zealand heads towards another election, every political party should be asked a simple question: what will you do to stop poverty following New Zealanders into retirement?
Now is the time for New Zealand to draw a line on poverty in later life.
