A staggering one in five pensioners is still working - a figure fuelled by finance company collapses, divorce and the high cost of living, experts say.
Statistics NZ labour force figures show 118,100 people aged over 65 were in paid employment in the first quarter of the year, or 20 per cent of all New Zealanders over the retirement age.
That's double the rate in Britain, where almost one in 10 over-65s are still in work, and the fourth highest rate in the OECD.
The numbers have been on the rise for 25 years, with the proportion of workers over 65 trebling from 6.4 per cent in 1986 to 17.1 per cent in 2006.
The trend looks set to continue, with Statistics NZ projecting 30 per cent of all pensioners will be working by the mid-2020s.
Malcolm Menzies, research manager for the Commission for Financial Literacy and Retirement Income, said the trend was mostly driven by universal superannuation, which is paid to all people over 65, regardless of their employment or financial status.
He said there were many reasons to stay in work.
"Some people need to stay on because they want to use those extra few years to build up their retirement savings.
"We think that some people have lost ground through the finance company crashes, and they're trying to make it up again.
"And some people just like their jobs."
Mr Menzies said divorce and separation could also be driver.
"People who divorce in the last 10 years before retirement have significantly worse financial outcomes - that might be another reason why people carry on working."
He said many working pensioners simply stayed in the same job, because employers could be reluctant to take on older workers. Those who did find new jobs tended to get part-time work.
Grey Power national president Roy Reid said the rising cost of living was behind the trend.
"The costs of rates, electricity and food keep increasing. Superannuation is not keeping up with it, and for people to maintain their lifestyle, they have to find additional income."
Mr Reid said not all workers over 65 were doing it because they had to.
"Some of them enjoy even part-time work because it helps keep them fit and healthy and alive. But on the other hand, there are lot of people who, because of heavy manual work all their lives, are incapable of work."
Mr Reid called for superannuation payments to keep up with living costs.
Alpha Recruitment managing director Colin Mathieson said about half his over-65 temping clients were still working because they had to, including several who were divorced, separated or widowed.
But others simply enjoyed it.
Mr Mathieson said one woman had wanted to be a nurse when she was younger, but never got the chance. She was now temping as a ward clerk at a hospital - which was "like fulfilling a bit of dream, really".
"She just loves it."
Mr Mathieson said all his temps were in clerical or healthcare roles, rather than manual labour jobs, and most were women.
He said older workers were reliable, experienced and had good life skills. But they also took longer to adjust to new technology and needed more training.
CASE STUDY
At 75 years old, Allen Davies is still working because he gets a kick out of it - but also because he'd struggle without the income.
The trained electrical engineer has worked as an electrician and an electrical inspector, but now he's most comfortable behind the seat of the bus he drives on Waiheke Island, off Auckland.
"I meet people, I talk to people, so I enjoy that. But it also provides me with that income.
"What I'm doing, I quite enjoy doing - but also if I didn't have that income I think I'd go under, to be perfectly honest."
Mr Davies said his lifestyle would change "quite dramatically" if he went down to just superannuation.
His 88-year-old sister no longer worked, but she had to dip into her savings every month to help cover her rates, power and other costs.
