New data reveals financial discomfort among women at an all-time high
Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission media release: 31st July 2025
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 percent of women are financially uncomfortable in comparison to 51 percent 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 percent 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 percent either don’t think they’ll have one or are just considering setting one up, compared to 41 percent of men).
Data found that 64 percent 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 percent) in comparison to only 22 percent of those without a fund.
Read "Money Matters 2025: The Power of Emergency Savings" from Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission [PDF].
August is Sorted Money Month
The Retirement Commission’s annual Sorted Money Month campaign in August 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.
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 on Tuesday 12th August; and
- How and emergency fund can save your life on Tuesday 26th August.
These sessions will feature a panel of experts from community and financial organisations as they share their tips for building and keeping emergency savings.
Find out more about Sorted Money Month, including how to join the online seminars.
By the numbers
- 44% of the general population do not currently have an emergency savings fund.
- 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.
- Only 35% of those with an emergency fund are concerned about finances from pay to pay, compared to 64% of those without a fund.
- 56% of participants feel financially uncomfortable, while 44% feel financially comfortable.
- 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.
- The proportion 18 to 34-year-olds feeling financially comfortable has declined from 53% in 2022 to 43% in 2025
- The proportion of Māori participants feeling financially comfortable has dropped from 42% two years ago to 34% this year.
- 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%.