10. LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupō) Link to this
to the Minister of Commerce
Why has the Government decided to transfer responsibility for the Retirement Commissioner from the social development and employment portfolio to the commerce portfolio?
Hon SIMON POWER (Minister of Commerce) Link to this
The Government has decided that the functions and objectives of the Retirement Commissioner align better with the commerce portfolio, particularly as we focus on improving the financial literacy of mum and dad investors. The change will take effect from 1 July.
How does this change align with the wider financial market reforms that this Government has implemented to date?
Very well. The focus of the Government’s reforms to date has been to improve the quality and consistency of the information received by investors. We have already seen the new Financial Markets Authority act swiftly to ensure that the recipients of unsolicited low-ball offers receive more objective information about these offers. However, improving information can only ever be part of the financial literacy equation, and over the next few months I will be looking to work with both the public and private sectors to identify steps to improve investor knowledge and understanding of matters financial.