Purpose
This research programme on the living standards of older New Zealanders was initiated in 1999 by the Super 2000 Taskforce. Its purpose was to inform policy development and public debate about income security and social assistance for older New Zealanders. The Taskforce had been established to develop a retirement income framework that would foster stable policy and enable New Zealanders to plan for their retirement in confidence. When the Taskforce was disbanded in March 2000, the research was continued by the Ministry of Social Policy.
This report is a technical account of a study on the living standards of older people. The aims of the study were to construct a standard of living measure, describe the living standards of older people, compare the living standards of older people with other groups, and examine factors underlying living standards differences amongst older people.
Methodology
This study is an initial investigation of the data gathered from a main survey of 3060 older people and two supplementary surveys, one of 542 Māori aged 65 to 69 years and the other of 3682 people aged 18 to 64 years (working-aged). The surveys were conducted in February to June 2000. The analysis focuses mainly on the data from the survey of 3060 older people. More detailed analyses of the older Māori and working-age survey data are being undertaken and will be reported separately in the near future.
Key Results
Overall, the results show that most older people were doing quite well and had relatively few material restrictions and difficulties. A minority (around 5% of the sample) had quite marked material hardship, and a further 5–10% had some difficulties.
Older people – both Māori and non-Māori – tended to report fewer material restrictions and difficulties than younger people.
Factors found to predict variation in the living standards of older people were:
- net annual income;
- savings and investments;
- accommodation costs;
- economic life events and stresses;
- age group;
- Māori ethnicity;
- Pacific ethnicity;
- educational achievement; and
- socio-economic status.
The research shows that the person most at risk of poor living standards was characterised by a mix of low income, no savings, high accommodation costs, a history of economic stress, being younger (aged from 65–69 years), being of Māori or Pacific ethnicity, and having held a low-status occupation. These findings suggest that what determines a person's living standard in old age is not one single factor (such as net annual income) but an accumulation of factors that reflect the person's current circumstances and previous life history.