Great groups for Kiwi seniors to stay active and social

From the days of huddling around the campfire to modern relationships where we send endless funny videos to each other online, us humans are a social bunch.

Yet many Kiwi seniors are feeling left out. In our Quality of Life Report, we found that nearly one in two of us feel lonelier now than we did two years ago. Plus, one in six of us would often go a full week without a meaningful social interaction.

Other studies show similar results, with approximately 10% of the 65+ crowd saying they feel lonely all or most of the time – a statistic that rises to 50% amongst the 80 somethings.

For anyone feeling lonely, there is one great solution all over the country: groups for seniors.

Why is finding a group so important for your well-being?

Staying social in your 50s and beyond isn’t just fun, it’s all sorts of good for your overall wellbeing and health.

There’s a laundry list of health benefits that come from having positive social relationships, from lower levels of anxiety and depression, to higher self-esteem, to a strengthened immune system, to increased longevity.

But don’t forget the part about it just being good plain fun.

What are some great national organisations to explore?

Need inspiration? Here are some of the groups you could explore all over Aotearoa.

For the hands-on and practical

MENZSHED is a social group specifically for men, “who are known to have smaller circles of friends than women.” It’s built around the idea of sharing skills, whether that’s engineers teaching accountants some basic work skills or vice versa. Plus, some groups also welcome everyone to join, or to come along to certain meet ups. They are all over the country, so most people will have access to a local group.

Age Concern is a nationwide organisation that provides support, resources, and social connection for over 65s. Scroll to the bottom of their page and enter your post code to find the nearest club to you, and get in touch to join their social activities and events.

Selwyn Centres are similar to Age Concern groups, as they are all over the country and provide weekly meetups. The programming changes, and can include anything from exercise days to morning teas, practical support, and outings.

For the active and outdoorsy

Prefer your socialising with a side of exercise? Walking New Zealand lists out a collection of walking groups all over the country. While some are specifically for over 60s, there are no rules stating you are only allowed to socialise with your own age group.

Love nature? Love getting outdoors? Birds NZ has around Aotearoa with regular meetings. These groups are as much about studying birds and keeping an eye on numbers as they are about supporting the wider knowledge of local birds and habitats.

For the creative and curious

U3A stands for ‘University of the Third Age’, and is a nationwide group for seniors to learn new skills and connect with others. It could be a meeting with a guest speaker, an afternoon tea, a workshop, or just about anything in between. There are 88 of them in New Zealand, and each one runs its own programming, so they’re all different.

For those who want to give back

Volunteering allows you to socialise with others, but also give back to the community and those who need it most.

Meals on Wheels is a great option, as you would be delivering meals and chatting to people all over your local area. Or you can simply head to Volunteering NZ and sign up for different roles, meeting people and helping others along the way.

Once you’ve joined a group or two, you’ll realise that meeting people and socialising isn’t as hard as it might sound. Just like how getting yourself set up with Seniors Life Insurance isn’t complicated either – simply request a quote to get the ball rolling today. 

22 Dec 2025