New Zealand’s ageing population should be seen as an opportunity to unlock economic and social improvements, rather than a burden, according to an advocacy group that believes many of the problems it raises have achievable fixes.

The New Zealand National Forum on the Decade of Healthy Ageing and its chair, Denise Cosgrove, has a list of five practical steps that could reduce the burden on New Zealand’s healthcare system and uplift the economy.

This coincides with the “People, Place and Prosperity” report released by the Koi Tū Centre for Informed Futures last month, which forecasts 22 percent of the population will be over 65 by 2048 (compared with 17 percent in 2025). Some regions will experience “hyper-ageing” with those above 65 making up over 30 percent of the population.

This has major implications for superannuation affordability and the provision of healthcare, with healthcare costs for those older than 65 five times higher than those for younger cohorts, and the report’s authors believe a clear population strategy to guide policy decisions is needed to take policy discussions beyond electoral cycles.

Koi Tū’s call for a population strategy is supported by Cosgrove, but she believes it’s not all doom and gloom. “We need structural change; we can’t keep doing what we’re doing,” she says. “But the reality is, over-65s are the fastest-growing potential workforce in the world.

“Participation is significant and already happening, and people can and want to work over 65.

People aged 65+ now make up a larger share of the workforce than ever before, with 217,400 older New Zealanders in work in 2024, projected to rise to 477,800 by 2074. 

According to figures prepared for the Office of Seniors by NZIER, people over 65 in paid work contribute $8.7 billion to the economy, while those in unpaid work contribute more than $20b annually.

By 2074 these figures are expected to increase to $50.2b and $138b respectively.

And in that same time frame, tax take from those over 65 is expected to increase from $13.1b a year to $80.1b.

Five actions

Cosgrove argues the ageing population provides an opportunity to unlock real gains for our economy and communities.

By supporting their workforce participation through proactive healthcare, accessible housing and community support through five actionable ‘pledges’, she believes embracing the ageing population could support the economy and lead to a better quality of life.

The Aotearoa New Zealand Forum for the Decade of Healthy Ageing is a group of aged care and senior-focused organisations, founded in response to the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing.

It has more than 20 members across the senior spectrum, including Age Concern NZ, the Office for Seniors and the Selwyn Foundation, of which Cosgrove is the chief executive.

Cosgrove says one of the most remarkable features of the last century is having significantly lengthened the average lifespan. “That’s something that should be celebrated, not thought of as a massive burden,” she says.

“We think there are real opportunities to improve wellbeing outcomes for older people by actually looking at this from a different angle.”

Supporting and enabling seniors who want to be part of the workforce will help lessen pressure on New Zealand’s economy, and help to improve financial resilience for seniors.

Building financial resilience is one of the key points put forward by the Healthy Ageing Forum, but it’s strongly linked to the other four priorities it believes need actioning, being improvements in preventive healthcare, accessible housing, improved community support and a change in approach to collecting data on those over 65.

Cosgrove says there’s a tendency to place the incredibly diverse group of over-65-year-olds in one category when generating data that is used for important decisions for the entire population, and it’s something she would like to see change.

Preventive healthcare ranges from the obvious, such as routine adult vaccination for conditions such as shingles and the flu, which research indicates could prevent more than 8200 hospitalisations, 137,000 GP visits and 2400 emergency department presentations over four years, through to early intervention for dementia by regular hearing checks.

Accessible housing

Improved accessibility is also linked to increased health outcomes. A trial in Taranaki found injuries requiring medical treatment were reduced by 39 percent a year by minor home modification interventions.

A Counties Manukau District Health Board modelling study had found a home safety assessment and modification programme could deliver 2800 quality-adjusted life years.

Many senior homeowners will opt to improve accessibility within their own homes with bathroom railings or widening doorways to improve walking frame manoeuvrability.

But for the increasing number of seniors living in rentals, this isn’t an option, and Cosgrove says that limits the ability for seniors to age in their own communities, a factor with significant sway on quality of life.

Only 2 percent of homes are accessible and more than 15 percent of older people need modifications.

She says as more older people start seeking properties with these features, supply and demand should see more landlords supply accessible housing.

But interventions through local government planning requirements could also see a greater number of accessible houses available to those who need them.

The Forum for the Decade of Healthy Ageing also believes moving towards more in-community and in-home care will have benefits for the ageing population, by allowing seniors to age in place, while also taking pressure off the stretched healthcare system.

Cosgrove reckons these are all easily actionable for the Government. “It is about thinking about practical preventive stuff and things that we can actually do rather than buying into that narrative about doom and gloom. ‘It’s a cost. It’s a burden.’

“We need we need to be thinking about solutions that are structural changes. We but we need to do that in practical, pragmatic ways.”