Fran O’Sullivan continues (Herald 26 July 2014) her regular drooling’s, re NZ Pension age must be raised. Our New Zealand Superannuation scheme is probably the world leader in its universality and simplicity, is low cost in a world-wide comparison, and there is no urgency to raise age entitlements. Australia is a poor example to quote on this issue; there system riddled with complexity and exceptions, and a country with a poor history of knee jerk reactions to retirement income issues, contrasting with the New Zealand approach. Any age raise in the New Zealand situation will disadvantage women, and Maori, and with the galloping trend of seniors remaining in the work force, and the remarkable ability of people to adapt to changes in the global economy and productivity, old measures of dependency are extremely suspect. Both the numbers and the Policy levers available, run contrary to Fran O Sullivan’s view.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/fran-osullivan/news/article.cfm?a_id=13&objectid=11299226

Posted Alec Waugh