INDEPENDENT NEWS

Labour secures the future for NZ Super

Published: Tue 18 Jul 2017 06:14 PM
Labour secures the future for NZ Super
Leader of the Opposition Andrew Little.
“One of the first things a Labour-led Government will do is resume payments to the NZ Superannuation Fund, so we can secure its future. National’s failure to invest in the Fund puts the retirement plans of New Zealanders at risk.
“Despite finally running surpluses after years of trying, the Government says it won’t resume Super contributions until 2021/22 financial year, while promising tax cuts that will hand $400 million to the top 10 per cent of income earners.
“The value of the contributions not made by National during its period in office is nearly $14 billion. Currently the Fund is worth $33 billion. The NZ Super Fund estimates that, had contributions continued to be made, it would now be worth $52.6 billion.
“National has sold the future of New Zealand short by billions and billions. By the time National plans to finally resume contributions, a Labour Government will have doubled the size of the current fund to $63 billion.
“This will equate to $6,500 per person extra in the Fund by 2021/22 under Labour. More importantly, we can continue to afford to leave the retirement age at 65; unlike National which wants to lift the age to 67.
“The argument to lift the age from 65 just doesn’t stack up. I’ve spent 20 years working with people who struggle to get to 65 now before they retire because of the physical nature of their work; that hasn’t changed.
“I’m absolutely clear that there will be no change. A Labour Government I lead will keep the age of entitlement at 65 and we will re-start contributions to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund immediately.
“This election will provide a clear choice – only a Labour Government’s fresh approach will make the investments we need to secure the future for all New Zealanders,” says Andrew Little.
Year 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22
Labour Cumulative 500 1500 3000 5200 7700
Labour including returns on investment 528 1682 3503 6279 9666
National Cumulative 0 0 0 2200 4700
National including returns on investment 0 0 0 2422 5419
Difference (incl. returns) 528 1682 3503 3857 4247

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