Life is good for retirees, report shows

Retirees have the highest level of wellbeing in New Zealand but young Kiwis are not on track to achieve the same results, researchers say.

Monday, September 28th 2015, 6:00AM

Sovereign has released its latest Wellbeing Index, produced by AUT’s Human Potential Centre.

The Sovereign Wellbeing Index is a national representation of how New Zealanders are faring on a personal and social level, and was created with the vision of helping to frame personal choices and public policy and action in New Zealand.

It found the prevalence of wellbeing was highest among adults not in the labour force, aged 65, followed by adults without children.

They were also more likely to report that their income was adequate than almost every other group, except young singles, even if they were earning less than the average.

“Adults not in the labour force (aged 65+) are doing well across all indicators despite having low median household income,” the report said.

Wellbeing was lowest among young singles and solo parents.

Aaron Jarden, a wellbeing scientist at AUT, said there was a generation gap that meant the future was not so bright for young Kiwis.

He said he did not think young New Zealanders were on track to achieve the same results as the retirees in the survey, who had financial reserves to supplement their incomes.

Many young people have had to pay off a significant student loan, he said, before they could start thinking about saving for the future.

For many, buying a house was out of reach.

Jarden said it seemed unlikely that KiwiSaver would make much of a difference to their position once they reached retirement.

“Young people would rather invest in a company or buying a house.”

Sovereign CEO Symon Brewis-Weston said the research shows the importance of understanding and taking charge of your financial wellbeing.

“Sovereign has been taking care of Kiwis for the past 25 years, giving them peace of mind, that if they are unable to work for an extended period of time, we’ll look after their finances. The report clearly shows a connection between financial stability and overall wellbeing and Sovereign is committed to working with New Zealanders to help them realise the full potential of their wellbeing now and in the future.”

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