Commission reaches out to make older wiser about money

Retirement Commissioner Diana Crossan. Photo / Wairarapa Times Age.

The Retirement Commission is tapping into the social scene of older people to help them make better investment decisions.

The commission is hoping to use the social networking groups of Probus, Rotary and Seniornet to get information about investment choices out to the retirement generation.

Diana Crossan, Retirement Commissioner since 2003, says the commission has successfully targeted school age children and tertiary students but the global financial crisis and the local finance company collapse has set the commission's sights on helping those much closer to retirement to regain confidence.

"It's all about getting to those people who are hard to get to - and getting information to them that is relevant and that they can trust. Getting them to think about - is it worth taking the money out from under the mattress?" Crossan admits the commission has probably not put enough resources into helping people with discretionary money.

But when the finance company sector crash hit it also came at a time when the Government was cash-strapped.

"The Government had no extra money to give. We know every agency was being asked to make savings."

Crossan said the commission was in a difficult position as it tried to help people at opposite ends of the investmen spectrum.

At one end were those in debt and at the other people with some savings who didn't know where to put them.

"We have to be [at] both ends of the scale. Then there are a whole lot of people in the middle who worry about a bit of both," Crossan said.

KiwiSaver had helped a lot of middle New Zealand in that it gave people with a little bit of money somewhere to put it.

But one area which had yet to be addressed was what happened once people reached 65 and could get their money out. At the moment there was nothing to stop people from blowing it all on a car or holiday.

Crossan said the commission would push the Government to consider an annuity market to help people who did not want to make investment choices beyond KiwiSaver.