Kathryn | Weymouth

“Okay, I’m Kathryn and I call Weymouth, South Auckland home. That could be a long list. Probably just being a bit more sorted to where I want to retire to. Yes, my husband’s a bit older than me, and so we’re at that stage of having to think where we’re going to retire, and what we can actually afford with our retirement. 

Okay, I grew up in Whākatane and Ōpōtiki and started work at Tāneatua, and also at Gisborne. I’ve worked for the Ministry of Agricultural and Fisheries, as it used to be called in those days, down there, and at Hamilton Research Centre.

No, I think when you’re younger, you don’t ever think about getting old, and retirement and I think it kind of creeps up on you, especially when you’ve worked all your life, but you feel you haven’t actually got ahead. Then suddenly, oh I’ve got to think about retirement, and you’re just a little bit worried. Nowadays there isn’t going to be quite the resources and the support, in the coming years, that there may have been, perhaps for my parents and grandparents.

I’m an ostrich. I just bury my head in the sand. I think that’s the reason why it’s been so hard this year, to try and make some definite decisions for next year, is the fact of not really wanting to admit that I’m actually at that stage, and having to make these commitments. Considering I don’t think we were informed enough about what we should be doing for our future, whereas I think the newer generation coming up are going to be a lot more sorted, hopefully money-wise, and career-wise, and they’re better educated. They have got more opportunities and a lot more variety within careers that we never dreamed of being able to achieve.”