Notice Board - News

Ageism; Impacts of Ageing; Savings

Rural Bulletin, National

Items of interest about ageism, the impacts of an ageing population, and retirement savings.

Ageism In The Workplace

A new international workplace survey by Kelly Services has found that almost half of all NZers believe they have been discriminated against in applying for a job with both young and older workers facing the greatest prejudice. The survey found that 43% of respondents in NZ say they have experienced discrimination of some type when applying for a job in the last five years.

Discrimination is changing its nature over time, the results show. Ageism has overtaken ethnicity and sexism in many areas as the greatest source of discrimination in employment. A Kelly spokesperson noted that at a time when we face an ageing population and skills shortages, many organisations are putting obstacles in the way of hiring older people.

Other findings include:

• those applying for jobs in the Auckland area reported higher rates of discrimination (46%) than those in Wellington (37%);
• males were the most discriminated against with 45% facing prejudice when applying for a job compared with 42% of females;
• the major sources of discrimination identified by respondents were age, cited by 19%, followed by race (10%), gender (6%), and disability (3%);
• people with a university degree reported higher rates of discrimination.

However, levels of discrimination in NZ are not adverse by global standards, with NZ ranking 19th on the list of 28 countries. Sweden, Thailand and Singapore were the countries that recorded the highest rates of discrimination in the worldwide study.

The Kelly Global Workforce Index sought the views of approximately 70,000 people in 28 countries including more than 1,200 in NZ. You can get more details at from the original press release at: www.kellyservices.co.nz/web/nz/services/en/pages/workplace_discrimination.html.

Impacts Of An Ageing Population For NZ…

Recent research findings about the impact of the ageing population shows that it will bring opportunities as well as challenges for NZ. The research found that encouraging people to work post-65 would have positive benefits for the workplace; demand for healthcare would outstrip supply; and friends, rather than families would play a bigger part in providing care for future older NZers.

Other research findings included:

• the “greying” of NZ means older voters will have much more influence on government spending than at present;
• younger generations of NZers may be less wealthy than their parents; and
• new government policies, for example easing our immigration policy, will be required to counteract the reduction in the labour force.

In comparing the profiles of those who are saving for their retirement against those who are not, the results showed that those not saving tended to be younger and on lower incomes while those who were saving were more likely to be middle-aged, on a higher income and, overall, be more affluent. Interestingly, only 19% of those not saving worked in environments where a workplace super scheme was offered, compared with 48% of those who were saving.

Of the group that responded that they were not currently saving, 26% believed that the current pension would be adequate to support them in retirement and 39% felt that a pension of a similar level would still be available on their retirement. In comparison, those respondents who are saving for their retirement are not as positive with 66% saying they are not confident that a similar level will be available when they retire.

…And Saving For Retirement Based On “Guesswork”?

Fifty-four percent of Kiwis are assessing the funds they will require in their later years based on “back of envelope” calculations and advice from (often unqualified) friends and family, according to the latest AMP SuperWatch survey results. Just 21% of Kiwis are seeking professional help solely from financial advisers, accountants or from need calculators such as the retirement calculator provided by www.sorted.org.nz. A further 20% of respondents said they relied on both professional and personal sources for their advice.

The data showed that those people who drew upon both professional and personal input for their calculations of retirement saving tended to have a more diversified portfolio (bank/ term deposits 62%, shares 40%, managed funds / unit trusts 57%, own business 36%, residential property 45%).

Of those who exclusively drew on professional advice for their retirement savings plan, this group was less confident about the availability of government pensions when they retire, (just 12% compared with 30% overall), have lower expectations of what they can do in their retirement regarding holidays / travel (64% compared with 81% overall), fewer expectations of recreation/leisure pursuits upon retiring (59% versus 79%) or replacing household appliances (55% versus 76%).

The AMP SuperWatch survey again looked at expectations Kiwis have about the age they plan to retire. In the last survey, 52% of respondents expected to retire under 65. This survey showed that the number has dropped to just 33%. 

Source: Rural Bulletin, www.ruralwomen.org