What if we’ve got ageing all wrong? Let’s rethink ageing

Six questions. One belief: getting older doesn’t mean living less.

Enliven Central has launched Let’s Rethink Ageing, a six-week campaign challenging common assumptions about aged care, retirement living and what it means to live well in later life.

New Zealand’s population is ageing rapidly. Around 105,000 New Zealanders are aged 85 or over today. By 2047, that number is projected to reach almost 265,000, while demand for residential care is expected to increase by 87 per cent from 2024/25 levels.

Much of the national conversation has understandably focused on funding, workforce shortages and whether enough care will be available. These issues are urgent, but Enliven Central is asking another important question: what should care actually feel like for the person receiving it?

Too often, ageing and residential care are discussed as though losing independence, purpose and control is inevitable. Older people can become defined by their health needs, rather than recognised as individuals with a lifetime of experiences, preferences, relationships, and contributions.

Enliven Central believes needing support should never mean becoming less visible or less involved in your own life. A rest home should still feel like home. Quality care should not depend on the ability to pay for expensive extras. Support should adapt as life changes, and retirement living should contribute to something greater than lifestyle alone.

Over six weeks, Enliven Central is exploring these ideas through six thought-provoking questions about choice, belonging, affordability, changing care needs, not-for-profit purpose and community. Each question examines a different issue, but all begin with the same principle: care should fit around the person, not expect the person to fit around the system.