The cost of living crisis is hitting older New Zealanders\u00a0hard, according to new research, which shows nearly half\u00a0of\u00a0over-50s are finding it harder to cover essential expenses than a year ago.<\/p>\n
In addition, seven in 10 are increasingly concerned that rising costs are affecting their financial security.<\/p>\n
The Silver Dollar Report 2026, commissioned by New Zealand Seniors Insurance in partnership with consumer research group\u00a0MYMAVINS, surveyed more than 500 New Zealanders over 50 about\u00a0how they are spending their \u201csilver dollar\u201d.<\/p>\n
The report said financial pressures were forcing difficult decisions, with 41% of\u00a0older New Zealanders having to choose between paying for one essential or another in the past year. Many have cut back on necessities such as\u00a0clothing (59%), food (57%)\u00a0and personal care items (54%).<\/p>\n
The survey paints a clear picture of the everyday impact of inflation.<\/p>\n
Groceries are by far the biggest pain point for the vast majority of those\u00a0over 50 (80%), causing nearly three in five (57%) to seek out cheaper grocery brands.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, rising utility and power bills are the second biggest financial worry for two in three (66%), leading to almost half (46%) reducing their heating and power use at home.<\/p>\n
Comfortable retirement is out of reach for most<\/p>\n
These pressures are also reflected in retirement planning.<\/p>\n
The report found 60% felt\u00a0their total retirement savings were inadequate, including 33% who felt their savings were very inadequate.<\/p>\n
This concern was highlighted by recent figures from the Retirement Commission, showing the average KiwiSaver balance at the end of 2024 was about $37,000.<\/p>\n
For those still working, 58%\u00a0expected they might\u00a0need to work longer than planned, despite the ideal retirement age for 42% being between 65 and 69.<\/p>\n
The fear of outliving savings was a significant issue, with 39%\u00a0very or extremely concerned about running out of money in retirement.<\/p>\n
The majority\u00a0(84%) defined\u00a0this as not being able to cover essentials without financial stress.<\/p>\n
The bank of mum and dad<\/p>\n
The Silver Dollar Report 2026\u00a0findings also highlighted the immense financial support older New Zealanders provide, showing that\u00a049% of those\u00a0over 50 were financially supporting younger generations, with 11% going into debt to help children and grandchildren.<\/p>\n
Levels of support range from $5000 to $20,000 or more in the past year, most often to help cover essentials such as groceries, one-off payments, or household bills.<\/p>\n
Housing and care<\/p>\n
Many older New Zealanders\u00a0are also actively considering their future housing and care needs.<\/p>\n
While 26%\u00a0are considering a major housing decision, such as downsizing, in the next decade,\u00a0affordability is a key factor.<\/p>\n
The ability to afford aged care is a barrier to planning to 55% of people, understandable as residential care can cost up to $80,000 annually.<\/p>\n
\u2014\u00a0Allied Media<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The cost of living crisis is hitting older New Zealanders\u00a0hard, according to new research, which shows nearly half\u00a0of\u00a0over-50s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":605667,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[138,219,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-605666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=605666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605666\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/605667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=605666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=605666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=605666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}