Older people

New Zealand's population is ageing. Forecasts suggest that by 2020 one in four New Zealanders will be older than 65 years. Our focus is on supporting older people to live independent lives and to be connected to their communities. Older people are important members of society. They have valuable skills, knowledge and experience. Ensuring full entitlements for older people and encouraging their contribution in the community will enable them to lead full, healthy and secure lives.

New Zealand Superannuation

The New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Act 2001 and the War Pensions Act 1954 require the net married couple rate of New Zealand Superannuation to be within the range of 65 per cent and 72.5 per cent of the net average wage. The rate of New Zealand Superannuation payable to a married couple was permanently set at a minimum of 66 per cent of the net average wage from 1 April 2009. Corresponding adjustments were made to other rates to ensure relativities are maintained.

Home Equity Release Schemes

In September 2008 the Office for Senior Citizens introduced a voluntary code of practice for Home Equity Release Schemes. The code was developed after consultation with providers of home equity release schemes, key savings industry participants and older people's advocacy groups. The code of practice provides a set of standards for these schemes which have been agreed by the industry.

Seniors website

The Seniors website went live on 31 March 2009. It provides Ministry information of interest to older New Zealanders in one place by aggregating the information contained on other Ministry websites. The site was built following research on the type of information older New Zealanders wanted on the site and how they wanted it organised. We are seeking feedback from users of the site so we can make it better and easier to use. We are also planning an online application for New Zealand Superannuation and Veteran's Pension.

SuperGold Card

The SuperGold Card provides discounts and concessions from more than 1,000 business partners at more than 5,000 outlets around the country. During the year we worked with the New Zealand Transport Agency and the Ministry of Transport to deliver free off-peak public transport concessions from 1 October 2008. These concessions have been well received and more than six million trips have been taken by cardholders since the launch.

A directory of concessions and discounts available from businesses participating in the SuperGold Card scheme was updated and mailed to approximately 400,000 households. We are investigating a reciprocal agreement with the Australian Seniors Card programme that would allow card holders in both countries to gain access to discounts.

We are planning a survey of SuperGold Card cardholders, the results of which will be used to develop further enhancements to the programme in 2009/2010.

New Zealand Positive Ageing Strategy

The Office for Senior Citizens published the 2007/2008 report on the positive ageing action plan and the 2008-2010 action plan. This enabled information on past progress to be easily compared with proposed actions. The action plans collate positive ageing initiatives proposed by both central and local government.

Elder Abuse and Neglect Prevention services

Elder Abuse and Neglect Prevention services aim to prevent or reduce the incidence of abuse or neglect both through direct assistance to older people, their family/whänau and carers and through public, professional and family education.

1,080 people participated in the programme last year.

Older People as Mentors programme: SAGES

SAGES taps into the valuable life experiences and knowledge older New Zealanders can share with families and individuals in need. SAGES volunteers can provide one-on-one life and home skills mentoring in areas such as:

• home management, management, budgeting and positive parenting
• communication skills
• self-esteem and confidence
• networking with organisations and within their communities to provide support.

491 families participated in the programme in 17 centres around the country.

Community Co-ordinators

We worked with the Volunteer Community Co-ordinators (VCCs) from the Office for Senior Citizens. The VCCs have strong community networks that contribute to policy and service development that helps make services for older people more accessible. Some of the work the VCCs have helped us with includes providing feedback and advice on user-testing of our Work and Income and Senior Services websites.

The VCCs also helped us to undertake a survey of older people to get their feedback on the services we deliver, and to ask them questions about where they would like to access these services and who they would go to if they needed help in a range of situations.

Turning 65 project

We led a cross-agency research project called the Turning 65 project.
The purpose of the project is to provide information for policy makers and other interested stakeholders about the employment choices made by older New Zealanders. It focuses on finding out what motivates older people to continue in the paid work force, the barriers they face in the current labour market and the supports and services they need to continue in work. The research project findings and a partner document, Maturity Matters: New Choices for Older People (that reports the views of the participants in the Turning 65 project), will be released in September 2009.

New Zealand Carers' Strategy and Five-Year Action Plan

Published in 2008, the New Zealand Carers' Strategy and Five-Year Action Plan addresses some of the issues that have an impact on the thousands of New Zealanders who assist friends and family members that need help with everyday living because of ill health, or disability.

The five objectives of the Carers' Strategy are to:

• provide information
• protect the health and wellbeing of carers
• enable carers to take a break
• provide financial support for carers
• provide training and pathways to employment for carers.

Over this year we worked with Carers New Zealand to develop a survey of 500 carers and interviews with 150 carers seeking their views on what information they needed and the best ways to ensure carers were made well aware of their entitlements. The survey was conducted in late July 2009, and the results will feed into a wider information strategy and an information pack for carers on the support from government agencies available to them in their caring role. The pack will be released in September.

Transfer of War Pension services to the New Zealand Defence Force

In the early part of the year, with the exception of the processing of Veteran's Pension, the responsibility for processing and paying War Disablement Pensions, and related concessions and allowances transferred to the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF). The following benefits and other unrequited expenses were transferred to the NZDF:

• Interest Concessions Land and Buildings
• Medical Treatment
• War Disablement Pensions.