Seniors an asset, not burden: report

Professor Emeritus Wayne Edwards and Carole Gordon from Supa-NZ say older people are a vital part of the economy. Photo / Andrew Warner

Older people are not the burden on society many perceive them to be but are making a valuable contribution to the economy, a new report says.

The report by the Office for Senior Citizens said the country's ageing society was perceived by many as a burden but a growing number of older people were in good health, had valuable skills and experience, and were making a significant contribution to the economy and society.

The report was an updated version of research completed in 2011 called The Business of Ageing, which looks at the spending power of older generations and how that will increase in the next 40 years.

It found older people were becoming a large consumer group and their spending was predicted to rise from about $14 billion in 2011 to about $39 billion in 2031, and to $65 billion in 2051.

As the baby boomer generation reached the 65-plus age group, it was likely many would continue to work past retirement age. Older people continued to pay tax whether working, gathering an income from investments or living off superannuation.

Seniors United to Promote Age-friendly New Zealand (Supa-NZ) chairman Professor Emeritus Wayne Edwards visited Tauranga last week and said the report showed a lot of the attitudes towards older people were "simply mistaken".

"The report shows, although we've got a population that's getting older, they are more engaged with working, they're spending more and they are living longer. People are working longer, contributing tax and spending more.

"People don't want to stop at 65, they want to keep going being self-sufficient."

Prof Edwards said the report underscored what Supa-NZ believed, being aware of the contributions older people could make, not just economically but socially and voluntarily as well.

"We need to capitalise on that opportunity."

Supa-NZ will be holding a symposium in Tauranga called The Leading Edge: Ageing and the Longevity Economy in March next year.

National convenor Carole Gordon said the message conveyed by the report was "amazingly important".

"The country gets the impression that older people are going to be a burden.

"Politicians talk about the burden on superannuation and the health system.

"One of the things I think it's really important to understand is that, by 2031, we're going to have one in three people walking down the street over 65.

"That's a huge challenge for businesses and policy makers to get that into perspective."

Baby boomers were the biggest consumer group now and would continue to be for the next 40 years, Ms Gordon said.

Catering for that age group would be "just good business".

Supa-NZ has created a process for businesses to be accredited "age friendly", with Trustpower being the first business to achieve accreditation.