Longevity economy opportunities

Evidence-based options to respond to New Zealand’s ageing society

Commissioned by The Selwyn Foundation on behalf of the Aotearoa National Forum for the Decade of Healthy Ageing, this NZIER report examines the policies and programmes that could or should be implemented to help New Zealand respond effectively to population ageing. Building on earlier work, it focuses on evidence-based, practical solutions that promote independence, reduce system pressures and support equitable participation in later life.

The report draws from international frameworks – the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030) and the World Economic Forum’s (2024) Longevity Economy principles – to develop the evidence base around three key pillars:

• age-friendly homes and communities

• healthy ageing

• financial resilience and employment.

Each pillar represents a set of mutually reinforcing interventions that together create the conditions for longer, healthier and more productive lives. The three pillars for this report are consistent with those identified in the Government’s Better Later Life Action.

Healthy ageing initiatives that take a preventive approach and focus on keeping older people in their communities, such as social supports, technology-enabled care, adult vaccination, oral health and falls prevention, have clear evidence of cost-effectiveness. These measures improve the quality of life of older people and relieve pressure on residential care and hospital systems. 

Overall, the report finds that many evidence-based and locally appropriate solutions have already been proposed in New Zealand, but action has been patchy and fragmented. As a small country . As a small country with primarily centralised services, New Zealand could develop a stronger, more coordinated approach to longevity, but international models also indicate that local governments must play a key role in housing and community initiatives and that the national government should support this.