Come in, relax and unwind: Golden Years are waiting on the back porch, watching the sun set with a cup of tea and a biscuit.

Scattered across New Zealand in safe and senior-friendly enclaves—whether in the country, by the sea, in a bustling regional township or fringe metro suburb—Golden Years are largely of Pakeha descent but there are also significant numbers of Pacific Islanders and Maori. They are empty nesters, grandparents and retirees, either married or single, and now live on below-average incomes—yet without the greater expenses and obligations of years past. 

Whether they are comfortably well off with a paid-off home and healthy super balance or prudently managing a government pension to cover rent, food and a bus fare, Golden Years are united and defined by their conservative opinions and antipathy to change and risk.

Unlike with older Leading Lifestylers or Kiwi Achievers, lower incomes, more fundamental needs and peripheral whereabouts mean Golden Years are quite simply out of the loop when it comes to new technology and shifts in social attitudes–and now, perhaps defensively, it’s a loop they’d rather not be in anyway, thank you very much.

Their focus today is on personal safety, security and health, interdependent family connections stretching down through generations, and appreciating the routine pleasures offered by a quiet home and local life: Kiwi beer, sport on the television and the occasional little win at the club.