Labour will have a Bill before Select Committee in the first 100 days of a Labour Government to ensure seniors leaving retirement villages get their money back within three months.
“Seniors should not be forced to wait up for months on end to get their money back,” Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said.
“Retirement should be a time of security, not uncertainty. Seniors and their families have waited for fairness long enough, and that’s why we’ll introduce this Bill in our first 100 days.
“Three months is a fair and reasonable timeframe, and seniors deserve certainty,” Chris Hipkins said.
The Bill will also propose the establishment of a simple, accessible and independent disputes resolution service.
“No one should be waiting up to a year to get their own money back. This is not just inconvenient, it causes real hardship for seniors and their families trying to move on with their lives,” Labour seniors spokesperson Ingrid Leary said.
“The Bill will include a targeted carve-out protecting small, rural and charitable villages by allowing relief where an operator can demonstrate genuine financial hardship, rather than the Government’s blunt exemption for every village under 50 units, which will just incentivise operators to restructure their business models to avoid the mandate.
“Retirement villages are very different from each other. Large companies and organisations have very different access to funding and ability to absorb extra costs compared to small independent villages. This law change will aim to level the playing field,” Ingrid Leary said.
