The Household Living-Costs Price Indexes for the September quarter show superannuitants are getting hit by the highest levels of inflation and interest payments are on the rise again

Superannuitant households are currently facing the highest annual inflation rate of any household group in New Zealand, according to the latest figures in the Household Living-Costs Price Indexes (HLPIs).

Statistics NZ's HLPIs provide information on the rate of price changes for goods and services purchased by 13 different household groups, measuring the impact of inflation on each group alongside an all-households group average. 

In comparison, NZ’s official inflation measure, the Consumers price index (CPI), measures how inflation is affecting the country as a whole.

Released on Friday, the HLPIs for the September quarter show household living costs for all groups were up 3% annually, easing slightly from 3.2% in the June quarter.

But inflation hit superannuitant households the hardest over the 12 months to September, with those over the age of 65 experiencing the highest rate of inflation, up 4.0% annually, according to Stats NZ.

For beneficiaries, HLPI inflation rose 3.1% and for Māori it was up 2.9% in the same period.

At 4.0%, the annual inflation rate for superannuitants in the latest HLPIs also sits above the latest CPI inflation figure, which came in at 3.7% in the September quarter.

Stats NZ attributed rising local authority rates to having the most impact on superannuitant households, due to superannuitants being more likely to own their own home.

“Local authority rates accounted for around 13% of the increase in living costs for superannuitant households in the 12 months to the September 2026 quarter,” Stats NZ prices and deflators spokesperson Nicola Growden said.

Interest payments are on the rise again

The HLPIs and CPI measures of inflation are typically used for different purposes – while the HLPIs provide insight into the cost of living for different household groups, a key use of the CPI in NZ is monetary policy.

The CPI is used by the Reserve Bank (RBNZ) in its inflation targeting, where it targets an annual rate of between 1% and 3% on average over the medium term. The RBNZ was widely anticipated to increase the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to 3% from 2.75% earlier this week, but shocked financial markets when it decided to keep the cash rate at 2.75%.

Another key difference between the HLPIs and CPI is that the HLPIs include interest payments, while the CPI instead includes the cost of building a new home. The cost of building a new home rose 3.2% during the year to September.

The latest HLPIs data found that average households experienced a 10.3% drop in interest costs in the year to September, compared to a 15.4% June quarter drop.

Stats NZ said falling interest payments were the main contributor to keeping the cost of living for the average household (as measured by the HLPI) below the overall inflation rate measured by the CPI.

Interest costs have been falling in the HLPIs since June 2025. The last time interest costs peaked for households was the December 2023 quarter when they were up 31.2%.

Petrol and electricity continuing to wallop wallets

Growden said higher petrol prices were the main contributor to the increase in living costs across each household group in the 12 months to September.

Petrol prices rose 19.1% over the period, accounting for almost one-quarter of the increase in the annual average household inflation rate. Stats NZ found petrol prices were the largest contributor to the CPI in the September quarter as well, with a 17.5% contribution to the 3.7% annual inflation.

Electricity prices, which were up 9.3% and local authority rates, which were up 6.2%, also contributed to the increase in the annual average HLPIs during the September quarter.

Higher electricity prices had the largest impact on lower-spending households, with electricity making up 7.4% of their expenditure, compared with 4.0% for the average household and 2.0% for higher-spending households, according to Stats NZ.