New research from Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission has revealed that record numbers of women are feeling more uncomfortable financially compared to their male counterparts.
Data from the Retirement Commission’s financial sentiment tracker has found that 62% of women are financial uncomfortable in comparison to 51% of men in the year to 30 June 2025. The proportion of women who were worried about their finances pay-to-pay and their levels of debt is now the highest since research began in July 2021.
The Retirement Commission surveys thousands of New Zealanders each year to track how people are feeling about their finances. The insights are used to help identify where particular challenges are and opportunities to provide better support.
Over the last few years, the financial sentiment tracker has shown the power that having an emergency savings fund can have on people’s financial wellbeing when they have some protections in place to cope with the unexpected. This latest report reveals that 44% of the population currently do not have an emergency fund in place, ultimately threatening their financial resilience.
Women were less likely than men to have an emergency fund (48% either don’t think they’ll have one or are just considering setting one up, compared to 41% of men).
Data found that 64% of people who had set up an emergency savings fund in the last three months felt confident about their future (almost identical to those with established funds at 65%) in comparison to only 22% of those without a fund.
This August, the Retirement Commission’s annual Sorted Money Month campaign is putting the spotlight on emergency savings.
Sorted Personal Finance Lead Tom Hartmann is encouraging New Zealanders to set up an emergency savings fund if they don’t already have one.
“Starting an emergency savings fund, even if it is only $5 a week, can help people avoid debt and cope better in a crisis,” he says.
“The research shows that putting money into emergency savings to deal with financial challenges when they arise, will also help you feel more optimistic about the future, and encourage a savings habit that ultimately builds financial resilience.”
The National Strategy for Financial Capability partners are also supporting Money Month with events and programmes across the country. These events can be found the on the Sorted event calendar allowing people to find out what is happening locally and get involved.
Ngā Tāngata Microfinance Trust’s General Manager, Vijay Farley-Naiker was keen to support the drive to build emergency savings with their community. Ngā Tāngata Microfinance offers affordable loans to help those on low incomes get ahead with money.
Farley-Naiker's advice is, “start your emergency savings today, it’s a small step that can make a big difference and break the cycle of financial stress.”
Ngā Tāngata Microfinance is running a free family event in Henderson, Auckland Build your buffer, on Saturday 30 August, with a free sausage sizzle, games as well as budgeting services, financial mentors and financial institutions ready to help people start building their emergency fund.
Sorted will host two free webinars during Money Month, providing independent financial information to help people start an emergency savings fund. Stressed to sorted - Emergency savings 101 will be held on 12 August followed by How and emergency fund can save your life on 26 August, featuring a panel of experts from community and financial organisations as they share their tips for building and keeping emergency savings.
By the numbers:
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44% of the general population do not currently have an emergency savings fund.
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64% of those who’ve set up an emergency fund in the last three months agree with the statement ‘I/we feel optimistic and confident about my/our future right now’ compared to only 22% of those who don’t believe they will set one up in the near future.
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Only 35% of those with an emergency fund are concerned about finances from pay to pay, compared to 64% of those without a fund.
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56% of participants feel financially uncomfortable, while 44% feel financially comfortable.
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The gap between women and men feeling financially comfortable has widened over the past four years, with only 38% of women feeling financially comfortable compared to 49% of men in 2025.
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The proportion 18 to 34-year-olds feeling financially comfortable has declined from 53% in 2022 to 43% in 2025
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The proportion of Māori participants feeling financially comfortable has dropped from 42% two years ago to 34% this year.
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On a year-on-year basis, more people are concerned about finances from pay to pay this year (42%) compared to last year (40%), while optimism about the future has increased to 46% from 44%.
The full report: Money Matters 2025: The Power of Emergency Savings
ENDS
Notes to editors:
About Sorted
Sorted is a free service run by Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission, the government-funded, independent agency dedicated to helping New Zealanders get ahead financially.
As New Zealand’s trusted personal finance site, Sorted has the information needed to tackle debt, plan and budget, save and invest, dial up your KiwiSaver, plan for retirement, protect what's important, and manage a mortgage. Providing tools, guides and blogs, Sorted can help no matter where you are at when it comes to money.
About Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission
Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission aims to help New Zealanders to retire with confidence. Retiring with confidence means New Zealanders feel secure they’ll have resources to live and the know-how to make ends meet.
We focus on three areas: Retirement Income Policies, Retirement Villages and Financial Capability.
Te Ara Ahunga Ora runs Sorted, Sorted at Work, Sorted in Communities and Te whai hua – kia ora, Sorted in Schools and is responsible for the National Strategy for Financial Capability.
Media contacts:
For more information, or to arrange any interviews contact:
Elizabeth O’Halloran - Communications Lead
Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission
Mob: +64 21 749 467