Older Kiwis struggle with basic living expenses: ‘We are living in a very bad time’

By Nona Pelletier of RNZ

Grey Power wants Government policies to address the needs of an increasing number of older New Zealanders struggling to meet basic living expenses.

West Auckland’s Waitākere Grey Power recently invited politicians representing six political parties to a members’ meeting at the Te-Atatū South Community Centre in West Auckland.

“A good budget would actually cover our real necessities. We are living in a very bad time at the moment financially, being an older person,” Grey Power member Gayleen Maurice, known locally as Auntie G, said.

She said she was struggling to afford her private rental accommodation, which was difficult with only super to live on.

“On super, you keep getting these top-ups which you have to apply for. It’s the only way that you can survive. So we are probably not as well off as people who still struggle to pay their mortgage, but at the end of the day, they at least have an asset, whereas I don’t have an asset at all.”

Auckland-based charity Communicare manager Mike Matthews said the charity ran 16 friendship centres in Auckland for older people and another six on Auckland’s North Shore run by CMA – Companionship and Morning Activities.

Matthews said the focus was creating a community for older people who would otherwise be alone.

Grey Power members at the meeting. Photo / RNZ, Marika Khabazi

“In terms of lonely, isolated, vulnerable, and it’s a major, major issue.

“And it’s a forgotten community. It’s not a child. It’s not a sports team. It’s not an animal. Those are very attractive for funders. They make good headlines. They do good TV.”

He said the situation for many older people was dire and was unlikely to get better without more supportive policies.

Matthews said the feedback from Wellington was that Auckland’s network for seniors was not as well co-ordinated as it needed to be.

Grey Power members meet with politicians. Photo / RNZ, Marika Khabazi

“Grey Power was a real voice and power 40 years ago when it started through the ’80s and ’90s and everything like that, and it needs to be back there again, so people will start to listen, because it is a block that can influence the politicians.”

Matthews said the Government needed to deal with the issue because there were more than 900,000 people over the age of 65 and 300,000 had just super to live on.

“And that’s forecast to grow over the next 13 to 14 years to about 1.3 million.”

Waitākere Grey Power president Vincent Naidu said the challenges were plain to see.

They included:

• Superannuation: There is a demand for clear policy statements regarding the sustainability of superannuation, which should be viewed as an earned entitlement rather than welfare.
• Housing: A significant number of elderly people lack mortgage-free homes and rely on private rentals, making survival on superannuation difficult. There is a need for policies that facilitate downsizing to release larger family homes.
• Healthcare and aged care: Concerns were raised regarding the rising costs of residential care, the difficulty of finding available aged care placements, and the need for better support for independent living at home.
• Cost of living: High power bills and the general cost of living crisis were impacting health, leading to increased hospitalisations during severe winters.

“I think a state which cares for its citizens needs to care for its elderly folks. We owe it to them,” Naidu said.

Auntie G said she was doing what she could to help other older people in the community.

She said it was particularly difficult for people no longer able to care for themselves.

“It’s extremely difficult to find them a place,” she said.

“Some stay in the hospital, just waiting and waiting to find a place. I hope I’m not going to be in that situation, but it looks like that’s the way it’s going to be.

“I have seen a lot of different rest homes, and some are really caring, others ... have no common sense when it comes to staffing. So, you know, it’s going to just be the luck of the draw, I think, for me.”

This story was first published on rnz.co.nz