This is your right as someone who has most probably worked hard in their life, raising a family, paying off a home, and contributing to society.
You could travel, downsize, join a few clubs, spoil the grandchildren. This is your time.
If you have a freehold house, perhaps a few savvy stock investments, paid a good amount regularly into a retirement fund or were fortunate enough to have a high-enough paying job that allowed you to retire comfortably, then you’re likely to be golden.
However, as we revealed this week, retirement for a lot of people is far from this idyllic description.
A single person on superannuation is entitled to $462.94 a week after tax, for a couple it’s $356.11 each.
When it comes to budgeting, rents are a huge burden.
Some one-bedroom and two-bedroom units cost $400 a week and upwards in Rotorua. In Tauranga, it can be between $400 and $500 - that’s if you can find one.
A 2019 Massey University study found most New Zealanders aspire to and achieve a better standard of living in retirement than can be supported by New Zealand Superannuation.
All household groups in the study were spending more than was received from their superannuation.
It’s clear that we can’t afford to retire on the pension alone - and some people can’t afford to retire at all. They need to keep working after 65.
Many say this generation of Kiwis is suffering in silence. They’re too proud, or ashamed, to reach out for help.
They’re the ones who will delay putting on the heater in the winter, preferring an extra blanket or pair of socks, or make one meal stretch over two or three.
This, to me, is the saddest part. There are many community groups that have the knowledge and the means to help our elderly in crisis, but they have to make themselves known to them.
It’s only right that Kiwis should be enjoying the fruits of their labour in their golden years - not tarnished by dehumanising, abject poverty.
That is not retirement - that is merely existing.
