New Zealanders don't believe Key's Super guarantee
New Zealanders agree that National’s gutting of the Super Fund will lead to lower Superannuation benefits in the future, Labour Leader Phil Goff said today.
A New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development post-Budget ShapeNZ survey has found 53% of Kiwis believe National’s decade of deferrals of payments to the fund will result in lower pensions.
“New Zealanders simply don’t believe John Key when he says his decade of deferrals will have no impact on Super entitlements,” Phil Goff says.
“John Key is being dishonest by maintaining National can stop funding Superannuation but keep paying current levels of entitlements. This means people aged under 45 have no guarantee of being paid Super, at current levels, when they reach retirement age.
“John Key and Bill English have effectively set a time bomb under New Zealand Superannuation in the knowledge they’ll be nowhere to be seen when it explodes.”
Phil Goff says the Prime Minister and his Deputy are again at odds with each other over when contributions to the Super Fund will resume.
“John Key told media that contributions would resume as soon as Government surpluses returned, but his loyal Deputy Bill English is on the record saying there will be tradeoffs between resuming contributions, tax cuts and spending,” Phil Goff said.
“New Zealanders are worried about the security of their pensions and John Key and Bill English can’t even get their stories straight.
“John Key’s commitment to maintain Superannuation is as reliable as the written guarantee of tax cuts he gave just over six months ago. Mr Key promised tax cuts which he said New Zealanders could ‘believe and trust in’ and he has now reneged on them.
“Interestingly the ShapeNZ survey also found 61% of New Zealanders believe National should not have promised tax cuts given the pre-election economic conditions.
“John Key broke his promise on tax cuts why should New Zealanders take his word on Super?” Phil Goff said.
