News

Yesterday

ANZ warns of social media investment scams using its branding, and targeting older Kiwis

ANZ is warning New Zealanders to remain on high alert after a new wave of investment scams emerged, targeting users on social media with fake ads that misuse the bank's branding.

The latest scam, identified this week, involves an advertisement promoting a stock market education programme featuring the ANZ's logo. The ad directed people to join group chats for investment advice — a tactic ANZ says is designed to pressure individuals into fraudulent schemes.

"The ads are the latest in a long line of investment scams. Sadly, they won’t be the last," said Alan Thomsen, Head of Customer Protection at ANZ.

ANZ has reported the ads to the platform and is monitoring for similar content alongside the financial markets authority. The bank emphasised it does not offer stock trading education programmes and that official posts would only come from its verified account.

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24 Nov

As people live longer and healthier, nurse training needs to respond to avoid ageist attitudes

From the Hearald: Opinion by Samantha Heath
THE FACTS

• Life expectancy has significantly increased, leading to more years with chronic conditions and disabilities.
• Ageism in healthcare results in missed diagnoses and under-treatment of older adults.

Life expectancy in New Zealand has increased dramatically over the past five decades. In 1970, men lived on average to 68. Today, it’s over 80.

These gains reflect major advances in public health and medical technology. But living longer can mean more years with multiple chronic conditions and disabilities, because age is a significant risk factor for most disease.

This demographic shift will reshape healthcare. Future health professionals will need to be aware of the increasingly complex social, technological and ethical challenges of caring for older people.

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17 Nov

How this man found himself homeless at 80

Stuff reports: As the number of people retiring owning their own home plummets, and many seniors are being priced out of retirement villages, more and more people over 65 are being left with nowhere to live. Phoebe Utteridge reports.

When Nick Carswell found out his rural Canterbury rental was going to be deemed unfit for tenancy in 2023, it was “a moment of sheer horror”.

“I thought I had nowhere to go,” he said.

The then-80-year-old had lived in a cottage on Miners Rd in Yaldhurst for 16 years. . Conditions in the house deteriorated impacting his health to the point he ended up in hospital.

His family attempted to restore the property so Carswell could continue to live in the countryside, but the property was declared unfit for tenancy.

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17 Nov

Age Concern Whanganui seeks donations to Secret Santa gift initiative

Age Concern Whanganui is on a mission to give older people gifts this Christmas.

It is the seventh year the organisation has run its Secret Santa programme which aims to ease the loneliness of older Whanganui residents over the holidays.

Age Concern is asking for gift items or monetary donations to be dropped off at its office at 164 St Hill St – or a volunteer can arrange to collect donations if they are unable to be dropped off – until December 4.

“We were aware that the Christmas time can be very hard for older people in our community and so we collect gifts,” Age Concern Whanganui manager Michelle Malcolm said.

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7 Nov

Beneficiaries, pensioners don't have enough money for basics - report

In news from RNZ: Households living on JobSeeker Support or NZ Super alone have to spend more each week than they have coming in to cover the basics, on average, a new report says.

Kore Hiakai, the Zero Hunger Collective, has issued its latest annual report - Ka Makona - which notes 27 percent of children are living in food-insecure households.

This year, older people have been added to the household scenarios, modelling weekly income and basic housing, food, transport and utilities expenses for an older person living alone and an older couple.

Single adults, sole parents with two children and two-parent households with two children were also considered.

Housing costs are based on rents for a single adult living in a shared flat, an older person in a one-room unit and an older couple in a two-bedroom house. Family households are based on three-bedroom rentals.

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6 Nov

NZ’s Fastest Growing Opportunity: New Pledges Show Ways To Boost The Wellbeing, Productivity And Resilience

Five priorities for investment in longer, better, more sustainable lives

Urgent cross-sector action to support older New Zealanders to live longer, healthier and more connected lives has been called for by the Aotearoa New Zealand National Forum for the Decade of Healthy Ageing He Oranga Kaumātua, He Oranga Tangata at Parliament this morning.

Policy and decision-makers are being urged to back five transformative, yet cost-effective pledges that will support a New Zealand where everyone can thrive and age well in communities, thereby lifting wellbeing, boosting productivity and building national resilience.

The pledges are evidence-based, drawing on research by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER), and offer practical solutions to significant issues that are currently undermining the potential and long term opportunities arising from an ageing population: ageism, unsuitable and unaffordable housing, a lack of “whole-of-life” planning, loneliness and social isolation, and poor health outcomes.

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29 Oct

Being awarded 'little old lady status'

Waikato times piece: 

Denise Irvine is a Hamilton freelance journalist and food writer, and a regular Waikato Times contributor.

OPINION: I had a medical appointment recently with a nurse who used relentlessly first-person plural pronouns as she stepped me through a list of questions:

“Do we know our height? What is our date of birth? Are we on any medications? Do we have any existing medical conditions? Who is our next of kin? I’ll just check our weight, can we please pop onto the scales.” And so on.

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29 Oct

Ministerial advisory group to look at changes to aged care funding model

This from RNZ: Changes to the aged care funding model are on the cards, with a ministerial advisory group being established to make recommendations to a system the government says is out of date.

The government currently spends $2.5 billion a year on aged care, which is provided privately.

Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said there were "major political considerations" attached to any changes, and so an independent group was needed to make recommendations, as well as long-term thinking and a bipartisan approach.

She said the announcement was about better health outcomes for the 900,000 New Zealanders who were over 65, and a better, fit-for-purpose aged care system.

The number of New Zealanders aged 65 or older is expected to increase to 1.3 million by 2040.

"We know that New Zealand has very good aged care, provided by dedicated people. However, the way that these services are funded is outdated and does not recognise the connection between the various parts of the system or the future investment required," said Costello, who is also Minister for Seniors.

"Essentially, our aged care model is out of date and piecemeal change isn't the solution."

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23 Oct

Still on the clock: No stepping off the treadmill for the over 65s

Read The Post: 

Turning 65 used to mean both a gold watch and a portal to the euphemistically-monikered “golden years” of a comfortable retirement.

Yet as life expectancy grows and living costs soar the idea of stepping off the working treadmill in your mid 60s has become increasingly unrealistic for many.

At 24% we have one of the highest rates of people aged over 65 who are still working, compared with other countries such as Australia (12%) and the UK (10%).

According to StatsNZ there are almost 200,000 working New Zealanders aged 65 or older. Almost 90,000 are aged over 70.

Certainly there’s any number of politicians, chief executives and property developers still on the tools into their 60s and 70s - and 2023 census data shows 42,000 people earning over $100,000 while collecting superannuation.

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23 Oct

Age Concern New Zealand Supports New Report On Age-Proofing Aotearoa

This from Scoop: 

Age Concern New Zealand welcomes the findings and recommendations in the latest report from WSP and The Helen Clark Foundation, titled Age-proofing Aotearoa: Rethinking our infrastructure for an ageing population.

“We are pleased to see so many of our own priority areas addressed in this report, backed by robust data analysis. As a charity with a proud heritage leading, advocating, connecting, and collaborating to see the delivery of local services, we do not have the resources to develop such an in-depth data analysis ourselves. We see this as an extremely valuable contribution for decision-makers,” says Karen Billings-Jensen, Chief Executive, Age Concern New Zealand.

At today’s report release at Parliament, Kali Mercier, WSP Fellow and Deputy Director of the Helen Clark Foundation, asked guests to consider their age in 2048, when some regions will be experiencing ‘hyper-ageing’, with 30% of residents expected to be aged 65. “It was a valuable reflection of the future, with some decision-makers present aged over 65 around that time. Their decisions now will be personal for them in 23 years” says Mrs Billings-Jensen.

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21 Oct

Who said women over 50 had to be invisible?

I’ve long felt uncomfortable with the idea that women become invisible with age; that now I’m in my 50s, I should be prepared to fade from view. Is that really how it is?

When I asked other women in my Gen X cohort about their experiences, they shared more than one tale of apparent physical invisibility with me: “I had my first experience of invisibility last week – I was standing at a counter ready to purchase, and two other people (who were standing behind me) got served first”, said one woman. Another shared something similar, adding “It surprised me as I am tall and very hard to overlook!”

Some women have experienced it showing up in working life: “I’m definitely feeling invisible in the job market at the moment,” one woman told me. “I have applied for over 30 jobs in the last three months, and not a nibble back. I’m not sure if it’s just the job market, gender, age, seniority…. or all of the above.”

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21 Oct

Innovative Māori aged care model set to bring aroha, manaakitanga to kaumātua

Aged care in Aotearoa New Zealand is in crisis. Reports of staff being underpaid and over worked are common as are the reports of elderly residents not getting the care they should. Kaitiaki is exploring what’s happening in this space. We talk with a granddaughter who is on a mission to transform aged care for Māori, starting with kaumātua from her own tribe.

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21 Oct

Air New Zealand pilot wins age discrimination case

A pilot who claimed Air New Zealand discriminated against him because of his age has succeeded in a personal grievance claim against the airline.

Captain Garth McGearty took the claim against Air New Zealand to the Employment Court, after he was turned down by the Employment Relations Authority, alleging unjustified disadvantage and unlawful discrimination because of age.

The NZ Airline Pilots Association (NZALPA) was also involved because the issues for determination involved interpretation of the union's collective agreement.

McGearty had reached the most senior rank, as captain of the Boeing 777.

He turned 65 in July 2017.

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15 Oct

How to maintain good cognitive health at any age

Is it an achievable goal to remain mentally sharp while aging, or is it a pipe dream?

It’s entirely possible if you cultivate habits throughout your life that are beneficial to brain function.

As a researcher in cognitive neuroscience and the neuropsychology of aging processes, I aim to shed light on the ways we can maintain good cognitive health while aging in light of recent scientific advances.

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10 Oct

What's Your Self-Talk About Aging?

A few years ago, as a travel journalist in Asia, I had an appointment with a spiritual leader in his office, and I was told that he was 94 years old.

I arrived at his office door, rang the bell, and a vigorous man with a booming voice answered and beckoned me to come in. The first thing he said was, “There will be no mention of age during our meeting. You will not use words like ‘older’ or ‘90s’ or ask me any questions that in any way refer to the amount of time I have been alive. Now let’s begin. I am a very busy man because I run six different companies.”

I was surprised, of course, but during our interview, I understood where he was coming from. He referred several times to his belief that accepting labels and holding stereotypical views about what happens when we have spent many years on planet earth can be limiting, self-defeating, and depressing.

Recently, in Santa 

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6 Oct

Aileen Kars, New Zealand’s oldest person, celebrates 112th birthday with high tea

Coffee fudge, walnut slice and pikelets were just some of the delectable delights served at a high tea honouring our oldest Kiwi.

Aileen Emily Kars turns 112 today and is celebrating the milestone at her rest home in Palmerston North with dancing and singing to the guitar.

Born in nearby Tokomaru on September 12, 1913, she is New Zealand’s oldest living person.

There are only 50 people older than her worldwide, according to the US Gerontology Research Group.

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1 Oct

Age Concern New Zealand Huia Award 2025, Celebrating Outstanding Contributions

Age Concern New Zealand is pleased to announce the recipients of the Age Concern New Zealand Huia Awards 2025, honouring three extraordinary individuals whose dedication has uplifted the wellbeing, dignity, and visibility of older people across Aotearoa.

“These awards shine a light on the remarkable individuals who are driving change and helping make Aotearoa New Zealand a better place to grow older. It’s a meaningful occasion for Age Concern New Zealand and forms part of our recognition of the International Day of Older Persons, promoting respect, inclusion, and the value of our older generations,” says Karen Billings-Jensen, Chief Executive of Age Concern New Zealand.

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1 Oct

Super-spry seniors help launch book on ageing better

The Devonport Flagstaff reports: Inspirational… author Leigh Elder (82) with former national tennis champ Margaret Borland (99) and former top running coach Arch Jelley (103)

Eighty-two-year-old Devonport resident Leigh Elder is an exemplar of active living, but says he is “only a kid” compared with some of the inspiring seniors at his book launch.
Among them was Arch Jelley, 103, master running coach to Olympic gold medallists Peter Snell and John Walker. The story of the Auckland “super ager” who still walks kilometres a day is one of several Elder tells in his latest book Don’t Act Your Age – Living younger can be age defying.
Another who attended was former national tennis champion Margaret Borland, aged 99, who came from Dunedin for the launch held at the William Sanders Retirement Village last Friday.

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1 Oct

Government rolls out new home care model for older people

This from RNZ: The government will begin rolling out a more flexible new system for delivering home care services to older people in the South Island on Wednesday.

Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said it was one of a series of improvements being made to the current aged care system, backed by a significant increase in funding.

The aged residential care sector has received a 4 percent funding uplift and would see a total increase of $96 million this year, while funding for home and community support services would increase by $44m.

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29 Sep

Aucklanders urged to get emergency ready this daylight saving weekend

From Our Auckland: 

Emergencies don’t RSVP; they show up uninvited. Investing a little time in emergency preparedness now can make a big difference in keeping you safer and less stressed when an emergency happens.

So this spring, Auckland Council and its Auckland Emergency Management department have launched a compelling new public awareness campaign encouraging Aucklanders to use daylight saving weekend to get emergency ready.

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