Lost investments

Money has been on many people's minds this month, with lost opportunities and lost investments in the news.

KiwiSaver is also recruiting savers. Sadly, older people aren't among them.

People aged 65 and over are not eligible to join. They miss out on $1000 up-front, a $1040 annual tax credit and tax-free employer contributions. We think this is age discrimination and we made a complaint.

These examples show the vulnerable situation many older people find themselves in.

Most live on very low incomes, relying on National Super and maybe some savings. 2006 Census figures released by Statistics New Zealand showed we are still the poorest sector of society.

We're constantly worried about money. Rates increases, medical insurance and power prices have run way ahead of inflation for years now. When a six percent increase in a GP's fees is regarded as a "reasonable increase", we need to keep searching for high returns on our savings.

On the other hand, the finance company collapses lead us to ask if it's really worth chasing that risky extra one or two percent of interest.

Having savings requires constant vigilance, and some older people are unequipped to deal with all the research and stress so they turn to financial advisors. Unfortunately anyone can currently call themselves an advisor so the quality of their advice varies.

We heard of sad cases in which older people were advised to shift money into Bridgecorp just days before its 2007 collapse.

Age Concerns are often asked for financial advice and we would love to be able to give it but we're in the same boat. However, we can recommend the resources specially produced for older people by the Retirement Commission (at www.sorted.org.nz ) and by reputable consumer organisations.

One alternative is to keep working. We already have the second-highest workforce participation by 60-65 year olds in the OECD and a recent survey showed that most New Zealanders expect to keep working as long as they're able.

Many of us enjoy our work and we're told there are mental and physical health benefits from keeping working. Older workers are valued for their experience and ability to train younger staff but their exclusion from KiwiSaver is just another knock against them.

Unfortunately, some older people are working because they have to, just to keep food on the table, not because they want to.

The good news is that many services offered by Age Concerns around the country are offered free or at nominal charge, so we urge you to use them whenever and wherever you can.