[sh] Call to lock in KiwiSaver withdrawal age as 65
Photo: 123RF
A prominent investor and director is calling for politicians to confirm that New Zealanders can count on getting their KiwiSaver when they turn 65.
Fraser Whineray, former Mercury chief executive, has outlined a plan for how he would like to reform the almost-20-year-old KiwiSaver.
He said a priority was to make the KiwiSaver withdrawal age its own setting.
At the moment, people can access their KiwiSaver funds when they reach the age of eligibility for NZ Super, which is currently 65.
But it shifted from 60 to 65 in 1993 and there have been proposals to move it higher.
Whineray said KiwiSaver access should remain at 65, regardless.
“If that [NZ Super age] shifts, then KiwiSaver shifts. I’m going ‘well hang on a second, KiwiSaver is my money’. People are doing their financial planning, their work planning, all those sorts of things… knowing it’s coming at 65.
“So one rule is that KiwiSaver’s access age needs to be defined, and not defined by something else.”
He said all political parties would receive a copy of the summary policy on Monday.
“I would love to see them answer the question ‘are you going to confirm that people can get their KiwiSaver no later than 65?’ And if they mumble over that question, and say ‘I’m going to wait for a report’ or get a study done or whatever – rightly, New Zealanders should say ‘that is not a hard question. It’s my money, I’m getting it at 65. You need to tick yes or find another job’.”
He said it should also be made clear that the government could not direct KiwiSaver funds.
“KiwiSaver funds need to know that it’s up to them and their risk appetite and their fund managers to work out what they should be invested in, how much in New Zealand, h ow much overseas, how much in bonds, how much in equities, etcetera.
“We can’t have a situation where KiwiSaver funds are being forced to invest in things which are to offload government fiscal problems.”
Whineray also wants to direct more KiwiSaver support to children. The number of under-18s with accounts has dropped since the $1000 “kickstart” payment was removed.
He said children could have an account opened automatically by Inland Revenue at birth with $5000 invested in a growth fund, paid by the government. A family could then put in $2 a week to give children a balance of $20,000 or $25,000 by 18.
He said this could be done with the $500 million a year currently spent on unevenly distributed incentives for people aged 18 to 64.
The member tax credit had cost nearly $1 billion before the government halved its contribution to $260. At the moment, many people were missing out and the system was creating “haves and have-nots” he said.
He also wanted compulsory employer contributions to continue for people on parental leave paid by the employer, and for contribution rates to reach 12 percent.
He said that should be done by dropping employer contributions to 2 percent from 2027 and increasing them by 0.5 percent a year to 2047, while employee contributions remained voluntary.
“We have to do this very gently … we’ve left people behind. They’re already not got on the buss or they are off the bus, so we need to reverse the bus a bit.
“This has to be very slow. Otherwise, it’s just too much of a shock for the system, and the economy, and wages… So, 20 years is kind of the transition, but it also overlaps with the political system letting it stabilise for 20 years, until at that point, it’ll be embedded.”
He said people who had been out of the country for a year should also not be able to pull out their money at that point.
“If you go anywhere [other than Australia] you can pull it out after a year. You go on the OE, you’re sitting in Ibiza, hit 366 days, you’ve permanently migrated and pulled the lot.”
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