Treasury head confirms “trade-offs” under National’s decade of deferrals
John Key and Bill English should come clean over the trade-offs New Zealanders will have to make because of National’s decade of deferrals to the New Zealand Super Fund (NZSF), Labour Finance Spokesman David Cunliffe said today.
“Treasury head John Whitehead said there would have to be trade-offs in the future as a result of the Government’s budget decision to stop payments into the fund until 2021,” David Cunliffe said.
“Bill English needs to be honest about what those trade off will be. Will it be increasing eligibility age, cutting pension levels, increasing taxes, scrapping pensions or reducing levels of other entitlements?
“The Finance Minister is hiding behind officials who are being left to explain and carry the can for his unpopular decision.
“National’s decision has left a $35 billion hole in the Super Fund and jeopardised the future of New Zealand Superannuation.
“The burden on generation X and Y will be heavy and unfair, and the likelihood they will rebel against it removes the certainty that the baby boomers will get current entitlements when they retire.
“There was a political consensus around Superannuation in order to provide New Zealanders with certainty so that they could plan for retirement. This has now been broken.
David Cunliffe said John Key also needs to rule out speculation that the NZSF could be raided to pay down Government debt.
“National has never been committed to the Super Fund, and showed its true colours by halting payments into it for a decade,” David Cunliffe said.
“It makes to continue contributing to the NZSF even in the midst of a global recession.
“Most New Zealanders agree that it’s prudent to continue saving for retirement at the same time as they’re paying off their mortgage. John Key and Bill English don’t seem to understand that.
“John Whitehead confirmed this morning that under National’s decade of deferrals ‘We will have to give something up’.
“John Key and Bill English need to tell New Zealanders what they will miss out on in their twilight years,” David Cunliffe said.
