National Signs Up To Join Robbery Of Pensioners
New Zealand First deputy leader Peter Brown says National’s announcement that it will continue the Superannuation Fund
in its current form means that Don Brash has committed to actually reducing superannuitants’ income by thirty-five
dollars a week.
“Pensioners are being ripped off by the way universal superannuation is currently calculated, and National’s ‘me too’
attempts to match Labour on the issue will only result in the continued robbery of pensioners,” said Mr Brown.
“By changing the mechanism for calculating the rate of payment from the Consumer Price Index to the net average wage,
the Government has made superannuitants thirty dollars a week worse off.
“In addition, another five dollars a week is being taken from pensioners because the Government has allowed the pension
to fall below 65 percent of the net average wage.
“This is grossly unfair. Thirty five dollars a week on a fixed income is a significant amount.
“The Government knows about this anomaly and will not fix it, and now National has decided to join in, having in the
past signed a super accord only to break it a few years later.
“The Government has breached its own law over superannuation levels and New Zealand First has asked the Auditor-General
to investigate the anomaly.
“New Zealand First is the only party serious about addressing the current discrepancies. We will not let this serious
anomaly and blatant cheating continue,” concluded Mr Brown.