"We spend a bit extra, but you cannot overspend these days. You get into trouble down the track," he said.

After emigrating to Sydney from Greece in 1964, Mr Koliadis worked as a production planning manager12 hours a day for 45 years, always with the goal of becoming a self-funded retiree.

"Many good citizens must do the right thing and try to create something of their retirement to give the government a bit of breathing space, but there should also be recognition of that," he said.

"But my income is $83,000-84,000 gross. When you divide that in two, with my wife, and you pay all your bills, you should not be classified as rich."

It is a reality faced by many self-funded retirees across Australia, many of whom will be feeling the Christmas pinch at a time when the Australian dollar has plummeted to fresh four and-a-half year lows.

On Wednesday came news the country had entered a technical income recession and gross domestic product had expanded just 0.3 per cent in the September quarter.

Preferring to steer clear of the uncertain sharemarket, Mr Koliadis invests solely in taxi licence plates now, but since he bought the plates the cost of living had gone up.

"I do worry because the Australian dollar is down," he said.

"You don't know what will happen. At the moment petrol is down, China is now not taking as much coal. I worry life will be much harder."

Sandy Anderson, also a self-funded retiree and the president of the Victorian branch of the Association of Independent Retirees, said it was the festive season when Australian seniors began to feel the strain.

"The reality comes to people in about October-November. They start trying to do a bit of shopping for grandkids. Most don't get presents for their adult kids because it's too expensive."

Mrs Anderson said she knew of many retirees who had been out of work for years starting to look for part-time jobs.

Mrs Anderson, "bit of a workaholic", ran a real estate business seven days a week, before retiring about six years ago.

"I had a goal to be able to live well and enjoy life when I finished work," she said, adding that she and her husband were most comfortable taking responsibility for their own investments.

"Having worked in real estate all my life, we're happy to have our money in bricks and mortar, and some in shares," she said.

One of the issues facing retirees in the new year will be the changes to the income test for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC), which provides discounts on medical and in some states electricity bills.

Currently superannuation income streams, or account-based pensions, enjoy an exemption from the CSHC income test, but from next year income from superannuation pension accounts will be included in the means test for the card, similarly to shares, managed funds or other financial investments.

"The one thing I've found about getting old is that health problems cost money," Mrs Anderson said.

Of the recent changes to the CSHC, she said most people would benefit from the grandfathering of current exemptions but many would not, resulting in a huge expense.

This Christmas Mrs Anderson's main expenses will be presents for her grandchild and preparing for a cruise she will take with her husband.

"We have always put aside for the future so we would be able to travel and enjoy our family. But we put our money together fairly prudently and invest fairly prudently."