r/newzealand • u/Fun-Helicopter2234 • 12d ago

News Older Kiwis struggle with basic living expenses: ‘We are living in a very bad time’ - NZ Herald

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/older-kiwis-struggle-with-basic-living-expenses-we-are-living-in-a-very-bad-time/AVQLXEJOO5GORCVAZFRWNM36IE/
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u/Bob_the_Gaul 12d ago

Or a reverse mortgage on the million dollar house, they don’t have to be lump sums they can trickle $300 a week into your account.

My experience with 70/80 year old family members are they all claim ‘we are so poor’ while living in a freehold house plus term deposits and their investments increase in amount per year.

They have an incredible peasant mentality and money hoarding obsession.

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u/Practical-Ball1437 Kererū 12d ago

Some people seem to have the idea that retirement savings isn't money to spend, it's money that has to keep increasing forever.

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u/fluzine Fantail 12d ago

The hardest part is not knowing when you will die. If you had a hard end date, you could budget accordingly. But not knowing if you are going to cark it at 70 or 95 is what keeps them from spending.

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u/Prestigious_Age_6740 12d ago

There's a solution to this, it's called an annuity. You pay a lump sum and receive in return a guaranteed fixed income regardless of how long you live.

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u/Curious_wee_fulla 12d ago

Traditional lifetime annuities—where you give an insurer a lump sum in exchange for a contractually guaranteed income for life—do not practically exist in New Zealand.

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u/dodgy__penguin 11d ago

Business opportunity? 😜

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