Elderly struggle with costs: worker

Northland's elderly are struggling to pay for petrol or keep warm on limited pension payouts, a Whangarei Age Concern worker says.

Local branch president and chief executive Beryl Wilkinson told the Advocate many of Northland's older residents were battling high living costs.

National media reports suggest some pensioners add water to their milk to make it last longer and stay in bed to save on heating.

"Even the price of wood is quite high. For those on the pension it's very tight. There is definitely deprivation affecting older people."

Figures obtained from Inland Revenue show that 59,804 Northlanders have now signed up to the Government's voluntary KiwiSaver scheme to put money aside for their retirement.

However, Mrs Wilkinson said saving was unrealistic for many others.

"It's very hard for those on fixed-incomes who are already struggling to make ends meet.

"In Northland, deprivation affects all parts of the community, not just the elderly."

Retirement Commissioner Diana Crossan said people needed to realise how small the superannuation allowance was.

"People that work should understand that unless they put savings aside themselves they could end up living off New Zealand super alone."

KiwiSaver was an easy and convenient way for employees to save for the later years, Ms Crossan said.

By the end of August, more than two million New Zealanders had signed up with more than $12 billion now invested.

Workers have saved more than $5 billion since the scheme's 2007 introduction. Government contributions total $4.88 billion and employers' contributions total more than $2.7 billion.

Ms Crossan said planning for retirement was about weighing up current options with future pay-offs, such as those associated with the KiwiSaver scheme.

"There are times in your life when you have to make these decisions about how you manage your money differently.

"It might be worth going into debt to get an education, because your education will give you a better income in the future.

"It might be also worth going into debt to buy a house and get a mortgage ... because owning your own home is part of your retirement savings."

About 8 per cent of New Zealanders aged over-65 lived in hardship, many of whom were renting their homes, she said

Other figures show about 250,000 people have opted out of KiwiSaver since it was introduced and just over 5000 people have turned 65 and withdrawn funds for retirement.

More than 80,000 others had taken contribution holidays at the beginning of September.

A holiday can be taken by someone who has been on the scheme for 12 months and wants to take a break from saving.