And now for that box-ticking exercise
With polling day set for 14 October, we thought it would be useful to ask local candidates what were their views on senior-adjacent issues. Here are the questions:
Q1. Do you support New Zealand superannuation being at a level where seniors can live with dignity whether at home, a retirement village or in care?
Q2. Do you support mandatory safe staffing levels in residential aged care?
Q3. Will you support legislation that helps lift wages for low income workers and families?
Q4. Will you support investment in additional and publicly provided healthcare?
Q5. Will you support investment in additional and publicly provided aged care services?
Not all candidates were sent the questionnaire as their candidature was not known at the time. The following answered YES to all the questions.
Wellington Central – Labour, Ibrahim Omer: National, Scott Sheeran: Green, Tamatha Paul: Opportunities, Natalia Albert:
Ohariu – Labour, Greg O’Connor: Opportunities, Jessica Hammond: Green, Stephanie Rogers.
Ibrahim Omer, Wellington Central, Labour: The issues raised are exactly why I got into politics. As a former union organiser for aged care, I know that safe staffing is needed for both residents and workers. Better wages for low income people is why I got involved in the Living Wage Movement – which was my first entry to New Zealand politics. More support for seniors and all users of the public health system is crucial, and aligns with my values, which are Labour values.
Stephanie Rodgers, Ōhāriu, Green: We will review the Retirement Village Act to ensure it upholds the rights and interests of residents, ensure public and community housing provides for the needs of seniors, and increase funding for aged care.
Taylor Arneil, Wellington Central, New Zealand First.
Our seniors policy is yet to be announced. [Editor: their 2023 election commitments include no change to the NZ Super eligibility]
But I can say the following.
Q1 – I am unable to comment on this at this point.
Q2 – We will reinstate medical staff who lost their jobs through Covid because the need for staff is currently at urgent levels.
Q3 – Yes. New Zealand First supports initiatives to help lift the wages of New Zealanders so we can have a high skilled, high wage economy.
Q4 – Yes. We support investment into healthcare and plan on funding St Johns Ambulance services to 95% of their funding and fund mobile health buses to take specialists and their services to the elderly.
Q5 – Yes. New Zealand First is committed to funding residential care for seniors (more details to be released soon) and we will ensure that there is more research and investment into senior critical health services so that our seniors are able to live with dignity.
Please keep a eye out for the full policy announcement around seniors as it which will be wide ranging.
Jessica Hammond, TOP, Ōhāriu: With one parent in independent living in a retirement village and another in hospital level care, I have seen up close the devastating effects of inadequate staffing and supervision levels, along with many other issues facing older members of our community.
I’d also like to look into funding and contracting models for mobility taxis and contracts for people in retirement villages.
In addition TOP is committed to making housing affordable, more support for disabled people, and making smart investments into preventative and public health so people stay well as long as possible.
What’s happening at the Fed
Grey Power Federation Board Meeting 24-26 July 2023
Appointments have been made to all positions on the Board, which meets four times a year..
President – Jan Pentecost; Vice-President – David Marshall; National Secretary – Jo Miller; Acting Treasurer with voting rights – Lew Findlay
Representatives: Zone 1 – Russell Bird; Zone 2 – Sandy Feringa; Zone 3 – Raymond Mudford; Zone 4 – Colleen Singleton; Zone 5 – Kevin Gardener; Zone 6 – Karina Bellman; Zone 7 – Bill Obers
Grey Power Federation Budget The Grey Power AGM did not support or approve the Federation budget and asked for it to be reworked. The updated budget and financial reports have been sent to Associations.
New member discount benefits
Molemap – there is a 20% discount on three levels of molemapping. The offer is available until 31 January 2024. The offer will be reviewed early in 2024.
HRV ventilation systems. 10% off HRV AirSense home ventilation; 5% off heat pumps/air conditioners; 10% off water filtration products.
Bluebridge: Get the Seniors rates.
AGM 2024 Will be held at the Brentwood Hotel, Wellington Tuesday 2 – Thursday 4 July 2024, a week before 2 term school holidays.
Grey Power Website The new website was launched recently with work continuing on its development
Grey Power Federation Standing Committees and National Advisory Committees All Chairs and Deputy Chairs will be confirmed at the November Board meeting.
Retirement Villages National Advisory Group (NAG) I have been elected Chair.
The Review of the Retirement Villages Act 2003 has been released. The link to the document: https://www.hud.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Documents/RVA-Consultation/4385-HUD-retirement-document-7_3.pdf
I would be delighted to hear from any Association member with an interest. knowledge or experience with retirement villages and would like to contribute to this submission. Please contact me by email president@greypowerwellington.org.nz or Mob 027 200 0066. Submissions are due by 5pm Monday 20 November 2023.
I am also interested in talking to people about a broader piece of work regarding retirement living. Zone 4 has permission from the Board to undertake a project in this area. We can attract members from other Zones/Associations and work with other Grey Power NAGs to assist with this bigger project.
Communications and Marketing Standing Committee I am the Deputy Chair of this Committee. We are developing the work programme.
Membership and Grey Power Electricity Membership continues to be an issue. More members equals more customers will be encouraged to join Grey Power Electricity equals more sponsorship.
Colleen Singleton
President, Grey Power Wellington Central
Letter
From a member about Alastair’s article on rest home care in the last issue:
It is really sad that our seniors are being treated so badly, the level of abuse and neglect is horrendous.
Many years ago I worked for Age Concern, and while there I read the support staff document for rest homes.
The DHB issued these work guidelines. It states in the document that 1…ONE health care assistance can care for up to 15 rest home residents. There is no way one person can do this safely. Is this perhaps one of the reasons, apart from needing to make a profit, that there is such a shortage of staff.
I have a friend who is an activities coordinator at a rest home. Her own mother is now at hospital level care in the same place. She is seeing first hand the neglect by staff when her mother fell on the floor while being lifted by two staff by her arms, resulting is very bruised arms and sore legs. Staff take too many short cuts because of the number of residents they are required to take care of. The wrong medication can result in overdosing.
The things happening in our rest homes are heartbreaking.
Banks need to pay up for financial scams
The more cynical of you would have noticed that the Nigel Latta TVNZ series on scams was sponsored by the banks, and was emphasising YOUR responsibility to avoid these scams; nothing to do with the banks, no sir! Obviously personal responsibility is involved, but the banks are complicit in as much as they are supposed to know their customers, which includes the scum who do the defrauding. Banks could do simple stuff like showing you the name of the account holder when you type in the account number to transfer money. This is common overseas. For a good summary of this question see https://bit.ly/banksandfraud
Update: NZ banks have now said they will do this, no date given.
Jobs jobs jobs
. . . or not if you’re over 50 and still looking. From an article on methods of choosing staff: “The lowest scoring measures were self-reported personality traits, graphology, and age. Age has a predictive validity score of zero. Still, it’s a major unspoken factor in recruitment. For comparison, it’s less useful than graphology, which is about as scientifically valid as astrology. Paying attention to a candidate’s age is, according to this research, as irrational as reading their horoscope. Another widely used method in recruitment is to ask for people with a certain number of years of experience. This predicts a mere 16% of the performance you would predict with a perfect measure. And yet it is an impenetrable barrier to most jobs. From: Why I am writing about late bloomers, by Henry Oliver
However, it’s even worse elsewhere; the New York Times reports that you’re over the hill at 35 in China.
Free accident insurance
Free accident insurance is included in your Grey Power sub. All members of Grey Power are covered by a $2000 Accidental Death & Dismemberment Policy by AIL NZ Ltd. This automatic membership benefit is provided to you at no cost and covers you as long as you are a financial member of Grey Power.
To receive your Certificate of Coverage and name your beneficiary, members can click on this link: www.ailnz.co.nz/request
There’s money in them thar villas
A property sector report by Urban Economics states: “An investment in the listed retirement village stocks 10 years ago would have yielded a return of 25% a year, or a cumulative 839% assuming all dividends were reinvested”. See https://www.moneytips.nz/ choose Research Report – Analysis of Retirement Village Costs
Latest Grey Power discounts
Our President, Colleen Singleton, has negotiated three more discounts for members with HRV, MoleMap, and Bluebridge. See details at https://www.greypower.co.nz/the-benefits
Toilet break
On 31 August our President together with committee member Alastair Duncan presented Grey Power’s submission on Wellington Communities Facilities Network Plan to the full Wellington City Council. Alastair introduced the submission with a humourous poem about issues related to our issue – lack of public toilets and poor signage. An example is the removal of public toilets at Te Aro Park before the new toilets have been built. A new park is being created on the corner of Frederick and Taranaki Streets and we submitted that the park needs public toilets. With only 5 minutes to present a submission all those presentations heard before us included issues of public toilets. That confirmed the substance of the Grey Power submission.
An ode to WCC on the matter of WCs.
Five minutes to present to all of you
Barely time to get to the loo
So please cross you legs and please do engage
Lest we dribble on
And I read the wrong page
As we age
Pressures grow
There is more need for the flow
And spending a penny is nigh
But if there’s no loo nearby
Then the danger is high
That the “Lets get Welllington moving” muddle
Is really an incontinent puddle!
So, please do what you can
To get more loos in the plan
And more signage to show where they are
If will cost more than a penny
And be welcomed by many
Both locals and those from afar
And when we go in
Make sure we don’t sin
And leave the toilet door all ajar.
In conclusion
We have a suggestion to rebrand Whanganui a Tara as a more inclusive city
And that is;
“Bladder times are just around the corner”
Alastair Duncan
Opening the doors to retirement village change
The Government has released its proposed changes for the retirement village sector through its release of the Review of the Retirement Villages Act 2003 Options for Change paper: https://tinyurl.com/4frcnbjp It is the next step in the Government’s review of the Act and builds on work undertaken by the Retirement Commission. It includes proposals of concern to residents, including:
- stopping fees after a unit is vacated or shortly after
- introducing a partially standardised occupation right agreement
- replacing the current dispute resolution scheme
- requiring operators to meet the direct costs of maintaining and repairing operator-owned chattels and fixtures
- requiring disclosure documents to include more information on transferring within a village to aged residential care
- introducing a mandatory timeframe for repaying a resident’s capital when they move out, and/or requiring an operator to pay interest if the repayment is not made after a certain time.
The consultation is open until November 20th.
Plan your spending through the three stages of retirement
When you’re still in the workforce, the idea of retirement usually evokes an image of one long holiday doing whatever you want – without the boss looking over your shoulder. For most people, however, the reality is a little different. For most Kiwis, retirement generally progresses through three distinct stages based on health and the type of activities you pursue as you age. Your spending pattern in each stage reflects this.
Stage 1: The Active Years In the early years you will generally have the same physical capabilities you had during the latter years of your working life. This phase often involves more time for hobbies, entertainment, overseas travel, home renovation and caring for grandchildren. Some active retirees may volunteer or undertake part-time work.
Stage 2: The Sedentary Years As you slow down mentally and physically, most retirees adopt a more passive lifestyle. This means your spending tends to fall. Many move into a smaller home, travel tends to be closer to home and there is more expenditure on health. You should complete aged care and estate planning, if they haven’t already done so.
Stage 3: The Frail Years In later life, we can become increasingly frail and our ability to move around decreases. Restricted mobility means your leisure activities tend to be more limited and your health costs often increase. Many retirees in this stage need help around the house and in their daily activities, they consider moving into a retirement village, or some fund home- based care or move into a residential aged care facility, which requires very substantial funding.
What does this mean for my retirement budget?
The retirement expenditure of Kiwis tends to be more like a lop-sided smile – higher spending at both ends (albeit not quite as high in frail old age) with lower outlays in the middle.
Super tip When working out how much you think you will need to fund your retirement, create a separate budget for each stage. This in turn simplifies the process of working out how big the total lump sum required to fund your retirement years needs to be. A tool to create a plan for your retirement is sorted.org.nz available on line
Election candidate meetings
| Day | Date | Venue | Address | Time |
| Wednesday | 20 September | Brooklyn Community Centre | 18 Harrison Street, Brooklyn | 7-8.30pm |
| Sunday | 24 September | Mt Cook Preschool | 160 Tory Street, Wellington | 4-5pm |
| Sunday | 24 September | St Michael’s Anglican Church Hall | 81 Upland Road
Kelburn |
7-9pm |
| Tuesday | 26 September | Karori Baptist Church | 161/163 Karori Road, Karori | 7.15-9.15pm |
| Wednesday | 27 September | St Anne’s Anglican Church | 69 Northland Road, Northland | 7.30-9pm |
| To Come ?? | ? Thorndon |
Staying alive by staying safe
Keeping up with the road rules (and reminding yourself about the ones you’ve forgotten) will help you avoid crashes and dealing with insurance companies claims departments. I went along to the free Staying Safe course organised by Age Concern with funding from Waka Kotahi (the road people). About 15 people turned up and you were given an almost 100 page workbook to go through after the course. And you didn’t even need a driving licence to attend. Their reasoning is that education is more important than enforcement. Some people were there to get hints for their licence renewal on their 75th birthday. (The AA gives free coaching for this if you’re a member.)
Some important tips from the course:
- check your medication , as a quarter of prescriptions are for drugs that have an effect on driving.
- Remove distractions (ask your passengers to keep quiet if you can’t concentrate on driving, turn off your cellphone) and be aware of your surroundings: turn your head so you can avoid blind spots.
- Plan your journey (the Waka Kotahi site www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz will let you know of road closures and deviations).
- Make sure you have a safe car; the site www.rightcar.govt.nz will tell you how safe your car is. Just type in your car numberplate.
We watched and discussed road code videos, and heard explanations of road code changes. The speaker outlined the alternatives to driving, from carshare schemes, public transport, and walking.
In all, well worthwhile, and they even provided a light lunch!
See https://www.acwellington.org.nz/events/staying-safe/ for Wellington courses.
Owen Watson
Seniors Week 2023
Age Concern are putting on a seminar for seniors at Johnsonville on 4 October, with talks on scam prevention, pain management, advanced care planning, tech support, and more. See https://www.acwellington.org.nz/making-connections/
Death without debt
Funeral debt is a big problem for some people, and one of the main causes is the difficulty of bypassing the funeral industry. A DIY funeral is an option for the persistent (but impossible if you want a cremation). It’s made far more difficult because of the problems getting medical documentation. Death Without Debt is a coalition of people from public health agencies, poverty action groups, churches and lawyers to change the system. More at deathwithoutdebt.org
Is the website a dodgy one?
Netsafe is your first option to test whether any website or link is legitimate using their Antiscam system. Go to their website https://checknetsafe.nz/home , enter details of the website and they will check its credentials. There is also a provision for reporting a scam.
Getting HIP
HIPs (health improvement practitioners) provide support for people with concerns about mental health, addiction, long-term conditions and general wellbeing. They are free and can be found at some medical practices in Wellington.
Reverse mortgages – check the small print
If you’re thinking about taking out a reverse mortgage, be sure you know the conditions of a break fee. Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL) quotes the story of an elderly man who was charged a break fee $88,000 when he repaid his reverse mortgage 10 days early to move into a rest home
In 2008 the man and his wife borrowed $109,350 against their home, with an interest rate of 11.19%. They understood the loan would remain in place until they both died or sold the house
The woman died in 2017 and towards the start of 2022, he decided for health reasons to sell the house and move to a rest home. When the house was sold, the settlement amount included $500,000 to repay the original loan and interest. The lender demanded a break fee of $88,000 on top
The lender said the man had repaid the loan “voluntarily”. It was only if both borrowers died or moved into long-term care in a hospital situation that the break fee would not apply. On mediation, the lender agreed to refund the break fee to his estate
In a case note, FSCL said: “If he had simply downsized his home and continued to live independently the lender might have been entitled to charge the fixed rate break fee.” If you need to complain about your bank, insurer, lender, broker or adviser you can find information at https://fscl.org.nz/
From North Shore Grey Power newsletter
Memory bags
Wellington City Libraries is launching a new service: Memory bag. Free to borrow for library members.
It contains vintage items, photos and conversation cards. This is aimed at people with dementia and their supporters. The themes cover garden, music, work, food and general topics.
Memory bags are available from Wellington City Libraries branches: Karori, Island Bay, Kilbirnie, Te Awe and Tawa, or can be reserved online for pick up from a library branch.
Retire inspired
Navigating the 6 phases of retirement: a free community workshop for people aged over 50 with Dr Angela Robertson. Karori Library, Wednesday 4 October, 12-1pm. She’s also presenting a talk on entrepreneurship at the same venue, 28 September 5.30-6.30pm. Free.