NEW ZEALAND: More retired people suffering financially, shows survey

AUCKLAND, New Zealand / Newstalk ZB / April 22, 2009 There has been a sharp rise in the number of elderly people struggling financially and people are being urged to check on their elderly parents to make sure they are coping. The latest research from insurance and financial services company Sentinel, shows that more than 50 percent of senior citizens are financially worse off than a year ago, but spokeswoman Linda Taylor says most are reluctant to ask family for help and will try to find another means of working out their financial challenges. Ms Taylor says many senior citizens' investment revenue has declined with the fall in interest rates and many have either lost money invested in collapsed finance companies or had it frozen. She says there is a need to understand that while older people are not suffering from issues such as redundancies, they are still feeling the impact of what is going on globally. Copyright Radio Network 2009