Seniors

The aim of United Future's seniors policy is to continue the full involvement of people 65+ in society: at work, with good health and general community involvement.

Superannuation

United Future's position is to:

  • Change the formulation of NZ Super, by calculating it based upon the anticipated forecasted changes to the consumer price index and increases in the average wage for the following 12 months.
  • Closely monitor the impact of student loans, declining levels of home ownership, and the fiscal burden of increasing healthcare costs on the retirement savings of younger New Zealanders

The Cost of Living

United Future's position is to:

  • Adopt a national strategy, including private sector funding, to insulate all NZ homes prioritising the homes of those on low and fixed incomes.
  • Promote co-housing as an option for older people to join together to create and manage their own accommodation.

Involvement in the Community

United Future's position is to:

  • Ensure that our seniors continue to be actively engaged in the community by promoting business mentoring by retired & semi-retired professionals
  • Promote elder involvement in the community through SAGES, which involves older people providing on-on-one life and home skills to young families.
  • Use wage-subsidies to help the older unemployed into work.
  • Fund training programmes that are specifically targeted at up-skilling older New Zealanders who find themselves out of work in the use of new technologies.

Health

United Future's position is to:

  • Cut hospital waiting lists by utilising private hospital capacity for state-funded elective surgery.
  • Introduce a free annual health check-up to all over 65s.

Aged Care

United Future's position is to:

  • Ensure that funding for the aged care sector covers staffing costs in both residential services and in-home care, to improve certainty and transparency, and quality of care.
  • Investigate the introduction of a carer's allowance for those who stay at home to look after elderly relatives, from the starting point of providing a limited period of paid leave for those who take time off work to care for their parents in the final stages of their life.
Seniors