Today's retirees feeling priced out of retirement

“They are feeling pressure across almost every essential area of daily life.”

New Zealand retirees are being squeezed financially from multiple directions at once, leaving little room to move on fixed incomes, a new survey from Lifetime Retirement Income shows.

The findings reveal a broad, simultaneous strain affecting retirees across cost-of-living expenses, council rates, healthcare access and the adequacy of retirement income. Cost of living remains the dominant concern, cited by 77% of respondents.

Lifetime Retirement Income – which helps retirees generate income to supplement New Zealand Superannuation (NZ Super) – surveyed more than 700 seniors across the country in May 2026. Most respondents were aged 65 and over.

The survey makes clear this is not a single-issue problem. Five of the top six concerns are cost-related, including the cost of living (groceries, power, insurance, petrol), council rates, dental expenses, the adequacy of NZ Super and heating costs.

“Retirees are not worried about one thing – they are feeling pressure across almost every essential area of daily life,” says Lifetime Retirement Income founder and managing director Ralph Stewart.

“These pressures are translating into real hardship. Four in ten retirees surveyed already struggle to afford council rates on a fixed income, and nearly as many say NZ Super simply doesn’t stretch far enough. The core challenge is structural: retirement income that does not keep pace with rising expenses.

“When your income is fixed and costs rise across the board, there’s no easy place to cut back. That’s a genuinely difficult position to be in.”

Healthcare and income adequacy emerge as non-negotiable priorities. Almost all respondents – 90% – rate access to timely healthcare as important or essential, while 83% say the same about NZ Super keeping pace with costs. Even aged-care affordability, which often feels more distant, scores strongly, with 64% rating it four or five out of five.

 

Fear for families too

Bridging the gap

More than half of respondents are filling the income shortfall by drawing down personal savings – a strategy that carries significant long-term risks.

“This approach can be far more precarious than it appears,” Stewart says. “Without careful planning for longevity, inflation, and investment variability, retirees can unintentionally deplete their savings too quickly.

“A long life, poor early retirement returns, or persistent inflation can dramatically increase the risk of running out of money when it’s needed most.”

Ends

 

 

Notes to editors:

1. Lifetime Retirement Income surveyed its national client and newsletter database, receiving 702 responses. Of these, 657 receive NZ Superannuation and are therefore aged 65 or older – this was the group the survey analysis focused on.
   
2. EriksensGlobal has conducted collation and analysis of data on behalf of Lifetime Retirement Income.
   
3. Click to view the full survey data pack.
   
   

Media contact

For further information, or to arrange an interview with Ralph Stewart, contact:

Sonia Speedy - Communications Lead
021 024 58141
sonia.speedy@lifetimeincome.co.nz

Chelsea Devlin – Chief Marketing Officer
021 073 5256
chelsea.devlin@lifetimeincome.co.nz