Data shows that 0.7 percent of people working as managers are aged over 80. File photo. Photo: 123RF
Plenty of New Zealanders are working into their 70s. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is one. Chief ombudsman Peter Boshier was another, until a rule forced him to resign.
Data shows significant numbers of New Zealanders are working longer, even in the industries traditionally seen as physically taxing and potentially requiring an earlier exit.
Data from Stats NZ shows there are almost 200,000 New Zealanders aged 65 or older reporting they are still in the workforce.
Almost 90,000 are aged over 70.
Over-65s made up 10.3 percent of machinery operators and drivers, 8 percent of labourers, 7 percent of professionals and 9.1 percent of managers.
Over 70, the numbers roughly halved. They were 4 percent of managers, and 3 percent of professionals, clerical and admin workers, sales workers, and 3.7 percent of labourers.
Over 80, managers had the strongest showing, with 0.7 percent of the workforce in that age range.
In total, there were 1257 people aged over 90 reporting that they were working.
Council of Trade Unions chief economist Craig Renney said it was not clear whether the people reporting work in sectors such as labouring and machinery operation were actually undertaking physical activity, or whether they were monitoring and managing others.
"There's a lot of people, particularly machine operators, who are the only people who know how to use this machine. As a consequence they're the last person standing in the shop who knows how to use the non-digital lathe."
He said some people turned to driving buses, taxis or Ubers as a second career, particularly if they wanted more flexible hours or a different lifestyle.
He said it was possible some of the people aged over 90 were working in a volunteer capacity, or could be the owner of a company.
"They may not be in what we call significant amounts of labour-based employment."
Renney said it used to be the case that big employers had systems that moved older workers on to lighter duties as they got older.
"My father worked in a coal mine and couldn't be working on the face at 60 or 65 because you were a liability, you physically couldn't hack the job so you might get moved on to light duties somewhere else or you were there to train younger workers. We've sort of lost that as we've lost the very large employers."
He said it was good that there was work for older people, provided they were working because they wanted to.
"The real challenge here is if people are being forced to work because their incomes are inadequate but they still need to pay the rent because they've never been able to buy their house.
"That is a sign of a failing welfare state because the pension isn't enough, they haven't built up enough KiwiSaver, they're forced to work at a time they probably don't want to. Lots of people want to work and get great enjoyment out of it but it should be a choice."
The Office for Seniors older workers action plan said a third of the New Zealand workforce was aged over 50, and 50 percent of people aged 60 to 69 were employed.
But it noted that these workers could have challenges finding and staying in paid work.
It noted that Retirement Commission research found a third of people over 65 were working because they had to for financial reasons.
"For an increasing number of people who do not own their own home or do not have significant retirement savings, continuing to work in some capacity past the age of 65 is a necessity.'
Gareth Kiernan, chief forecaster at Infometrics, said it was notable that there was increasing workforce participation in the 65 to 69 year old age group.
"And to a lesser extent in the 70 to 74, then it drops away pretty quickly after that."
He said it made sense that a high proportion of people who remained in work were managers.
"That's a relatively easy job from a physical point of view and experience is always useful."
But he said it was interesting there was also relatively strong participation from machinery operations and drivers, as well as labourers.
"I can envisage older people driving buses or taxis for a bit but labourers… that genuinely did surprise me. I wonder if what's coming through there is if I'm a manager or a professional or whatever and I hit 65 I can probably pretty much choose whether I want to keep working, if I don't and I have enough money for retirement, all good. It may well be that people continuing to work in some of the lower-skilled jobs literally do not have the choice, they still need money."
He noted that discussions about raising the retirement age have pointed out that it may be harder for people in physical roles to continue past 65.
"Do you start to have some differential recognising, yeah if you're a tradie or a labourer or whatever you physically might not be able to keep working, you've probably been harder on your body for the last 40-odd years anyway so on average you're in a less good physical state as well as in a job requiring more physical effort."
In some other countries, if people choose to retire earlier, they could opt to receive a lower payment.
"The problem with that is for the likes of labourers or tradies or whatever, they will have been on a lower income for rest of their lives anyway so it is continuing to make them worse off by giving them a lower retirement pension going forward. It almost reinforces potential systemic problems."
Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson said it would be complex to make eligibility changes to NZ Super based on job types.
"A better way could be changing settings such as introducing income-testing applied to selective age groups but that also adds complexities which would come at additional administration cost and could disincentivise people from working longer.
"We know that any change to the age of eligibility would disproportionately disadvantage manual workers, carers and those they care for, and those with poor health, due to differences in savings, wealth and ability to remain in paid work after the age of 65. Women, Māori, and Pacific peoples are overrepresented in those groups. So extra support would be needed to support some people through to a later age of eligibility which would in turn reduce fiscal savings from raising the age. Political support for a stable long-term system is crucial."
New Zealand Initiative chief economist Eric Crampton said some of the over-90-year-olds claiming to be working could be giving incorrect information.
"I'm sure that some of those are real. But what proportion are real vs jokers?"
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