ISSUE
Friday, August 15, 2025
Volume 16 . Issue 72
Scaremongering about the cost of New Zealand Super continues with some in the public and the media now convinced that it is not affordable. They are wrong.
NZ Super from the point of view of cost only takes 4.1 per cent net of GDP, much less than similar pensions in other OECD nations.
The number of people entitled to receive NZ Super will rise 14 percent in the next four years, and that’s now causing a scramble of concern.
There has been all sorts of loose talk about the cost of baby boomers who are reaching their senior years.
However, the Cullen Fund was set up to cost smooth this very event, and let’s not forget these baby boomers have also been paying taxes for a long time.
The number of people who have acquired super after only 10 years in New Zealand is heading beyond 70,000. Why don’t some commentators have the courage to talk about that? They are blithely avoiding the obvious.
For years New Zealand First has highlighted excess demand on NZ Super from immigrants who are eligible at 65 after being here only 10 years.
There is no requirement for a person who fits the 10-year entitlement to have worked or paid taxes, in other words they may not have contributed at all.
That is totally unfair to Kiwis who have worked all their lives and paid taxes.
It’s impossible to name a country where Kiwis can receive a pension after living there 10 years. Why are we so generous?
New Zealand First’s policy is to have NZ Super tied to the time a person has lived in New Zealand, so a person who has been here only 10 years would not receive Super in full.
This is a sure way to protect the affordability of NZ Super.
Scaremongering about the cost of New Zealand Super continues with some in the public and the media now convinced that it is not affordable. They are wrong.
NZ Super from the point of view of cost only takes 4.1 per cent net of GDP, much less than similar pensions in other OECD nations.
The...
Scaremongering about the cost of New Zealand Super continues with some in the public and the media now convinced that it is not affordable. They are wrong.
NZ Super from the point of view of cost only takes 4.1 per cent net of GDP, much less than similar pensions in other OECD nations.
The number of people entitled to receive NZ Super will rise 14 percent in the next four years, and that’s now causing a scramble of concern.
There has been all sorts of loose talk about the cost of baby boomers who are reaching their senior years.
However, the Cullen Fund was set up to cost smooth this very event, and let’s not forget these baby boomers have also been paying taxes for a long time.
The number of people who have acquired super after only 10 years in New Zealand is heading beyond 70,000. Why don’t some commentators have the courage to talk about that? They are blithely avoiding the obvious.
For years New Zealand First has highlighted excess demand on NZ Super from immigrants who are eligible at 65 after being here only 10 years.
There is no requirement for a person who fits the 10-year entitlement to have worked or paid taxes, in other words they may not have contributed at all.
That is totally unfair to Kiwis who have worked all their lives and paid taxes.
It’s impossible to name a country where Kiwis can receive a pension after living there 10 years. Why are we so generous?
New Zealand First’s policy is to have NZ Super tied to the time a person has lived in New Zealand, so a person who has been here only 10 years would not receive Super in full.
This is a sure way to protect the affordability of NZ Super.
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