By Sarah McMillan\/cvnznews.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Age Concern Auckland says it is seeing a sharp rise in financially motivated elder abuse as the cost\u2011of\u2011living crisis deepens, with some families turning to their elderly relatives as an informal \u201cbank of last resort\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chief executive Kevin Lamb said referrals involving elder abuse had jumped 20\u201330 percent in the past year, and a growing share of cases were directly tied to financial stress inside households.
Older New Zealanders, he said, are being hit with a \u201cdouble whammy\u201d: their own rising living costs, and the increasing vulnerability that comes when desperate family members see them as a solution to their own hardship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are hearing from older people who are literally panicking \u2014 \u2018Do I turn the heating on, or do I buy proper food today?\u2019\u201d Lamb said. \u201cThey\u2019re struggling financially themselves, but also becoming more vulnerable to those who would take advantage of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Examples range from relatives quietly skimming money while \u201chelping\u201d with groceries, to cases where seniors are coerced into giving up their homes.
Age Concern estimates that up to 10 percent of New Zealanders over 65 experience some form of abuse or neglect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Christians, the trend is more than a social problem \u2014 it is a spiritual alarm bell. Scripture repeatedly commands honour, protection, and dignity for the elderly. \u201cDo not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent\u201d<\/em> (Psalm 71:9). Financial hardship may explain the behaviour, but it does not excuse it. The biblical mandate is clear: families are called to care for their elders, not exploit them. Paul\u2019s instruction to Timothy still stands: \u201cIf anyone does not provide for his relatives\u2026 he has denied the faith\u201d<\/em> (1 Tim 5:8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n As living costs continue to rise, Age Concern is urging New Zealanders to look out for signs of exploitation and to speak up early. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Sarah McMillan\/cvnznews.com Age Concern Auckland says it is seeing a sharp rise in financially motivated elder abuse as the cost\u2011of\u2011living crisis deepens, with some families turning to their elderly relatives as an informal \u201cbank of last resort\u201d. Chief executive Kevin Lamb said referrals involving elder abuse had jumped 20\u201330 percent in the past year,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12879,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[41],"tags":[886,1128,113,1129],"coauthors":[380],"class_list":{"0":"post-12878","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-cost-of-living","9":"tag-elder-abuse","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-seniors"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Elderly.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12878"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12880,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12878\/revisions\/12880"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12878"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=12878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
The Bible treats the mistreatment of the vulnerable as a sign of moral decay in a nation, not merely economic pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the Church, the call is even sharper \u2014 to model a counter\u2011culture of honour, protection, and practical support for seniors who are increasingly carrying the weight of a nation\u2019s economic strain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n