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Are you retirement ready? How to plan at every age

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Fewer people are quitting work cold turkey at 65, making retirement planning essential at every stage of life. Are you ready?

Recently, I sat down with my dad to chat about retirement, and he shared some pretty eye-opening thoughts. “I know of people who retire, and they fall in a big hole. Even my dad was like that. He had a senior job in Wellington, and his whole life and status were wrapped up in that job. So when he retired, he kind of fell in a hole.”

My dad recounted how, during that time, he was overseas and came back to find my grandfather “just lying around the house.” It was a real shock. “I thought, gee, that’s not great, you know.”

The conversation got me thinking about how important it is to really prepare for retirement. As our population ages and people live longer, healthier lives, the idea of retirement is changing. Instead of the old model of stopping work cold turkey at 65, more people are choosing to work longer or ease into retirement gradually.

This shift brings both challenges and opportunities for people, workplaces, and society as a whole. In this article, we’ll dive into the ageing workforce, discuss why it's crucial to prep for retirement at any age, and share tips for personal wellbeing, supporting others, and creating age-friendly workplaces.

The Ageing Workforce: A Growing Reality

Statistics from the World Health Organisation and Financial Services Council New Zealand paint a clear picture of an ageing workforce in New Zealand and globally:

  • By 2030, 1 in 6 people in the world will be aged 60 years or over.
  • The number of people aged 60 years and older is expected to double to 2.1 billion by 2050.
  • In New Zealand, the number of people aged 65 and over is projected to increase from around 750,000 in 2020 to over 1.3 million by 2048.
  • The labour force participation rate for those aged 65 and over in New Zealand has increased from 11.4% in 2001 to 24.8% in 2020.

These figures really emphasise how crucial it is to rethink our approach to work, retirement, and financial planning as we navigate an older workforce and longer retirements.

Working longer is becoming the norm, and it’s happening for a whole host of reasons. First, with life expectancy on the rise, many of us have a lot more years ahead after reaching that traditional retirement age. This reality often pushes people to keep working to ensure they have enough savings to enjoy life.

Then there are the financial pressures we can’t ignore.

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