February 19, 2024
Equity lends favours super at 65
Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson says putting up the superannuation age would raise reaty of Waitangi concerns.
The commission Te Ara Ahunga Ora has launched a campaign to keep the age at 65.
National’s current policy is to raise it to 67 from 2044.
Ms Wrightson says claims NZ Super is unaffordable are not supported by independent analysis.
Just 7.1 percent of pensioners are Māori, reflecting lower life expectancy, so raising the age of eligibility would have a big impact.
“If you’re putting an equity lens on it, one of the first questions you have to ask is who does any change hurt and it’s really clear it would hurt women, Māori, Pasifika, and people in manual occupations. And of course Maori are overrepresented in some of those statistics and Maori women absolutely,” she says.
Ms Wrightson says there’s a case for income testing for eligibility, but that would be hugely unpopular.