Julie Iles – Business Day – Stuff

With more New Zealanders working into their retirement and an ageing population, companies need to figure out how they can keep their older workers happy, or risk bearing the brunt of an oncoming skills shortage.

Growing numbers of superannuitants are working in supermarkets, driving buses or staying longer in the construction and agricultural sector.

At Countdown, where the oldest employee is 83, 1600 of its 18,000 staff are over the age of 60. General manager of people and culture Lauren Voyce said older workers offered a lot of value through their “institutional knowledge”. “A lot of companies are concerned with how to recruit and retain millennials when in fact, New Zealand’s population is aging and we’re living longer than ever before … “By 2050 there’s predicted to be 1.1 million people over the age of 65, so while many companies are focused on millennials I think it’s important to think beyond that.”

Yet research suggests many companies are being short-sighted on the matter. Retirement Commissioner Diane Maxwell said a survey done last year by the Commission for Financial Capability found that of 500 organisations, 83 per cent had no policies or strategies in place for workers aged over 50.

Read more: https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/100998151/newzealands- ageing-workforce–the-elephant-in-the-roomfor- many-companies

Reprinted from 50s Forward News & Views – by Helen MacDiamid. With thanks

if you’re a pensioner . . . . We need to do nothing at all to qualify for this pay-out. For 2018 it won’t be the whole amount though, as this year it will be from July to September. However, in 2019 it will come in from May to September. Should you need to call the “NZ Superannuation line”, their ONLY number is 0800 552 002

(With thanks to Wainuiomata Grey Power newsletter “Grey Natter”)