2. CHARLES CHAUVEL (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Finance
Has he received any recent reports on the take-up of KiwiSaver?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Minister of Finance) Link to this
The last formal report was on 9 October, when nearly 213,000 Kiwis were enrolled in KiwiSaver. Of those, nearly 102,000 actively chose a provider and went directly to a scheme to enrol, 67,000 actively chose to join KiwiSaver and enrol via their employer, and 44,000 new employees were automatically enrolled.
Has the Minister seen any recent international reports on the benefits of superannuation schemes such as KiwiSaver?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
Yes. Last week the Boston Consulting Group found that the growth in personal wealth in Australia was largely due to Australia’s superannuation system. I have also seen a report from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research trying to claim that New Zealand does not have a savings problem, due to a booming but unquantified informal economy. That is at odds with the rise in household debt, decline in savings rates as measured by public indicators, current account deficit, and net international investment position. But an unmeasurable, hidden economy somehow explains our savings problem completely away!
Hon Bill EnglishCan the Minister tell us how much money actually went into KiwiSaver accounts on 1 October, what proportion of it was the Government start-up payments or subsidies, and what proportion of it was actually contributions from new members?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
I am sorry; I do not have those numbers in front of me. There would be quite limited Government start-up payments as of 1 October.
Has the Minister seen any reports suggesting that the KiwiSaver scheme should be changed significantly?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
Yes, I have seen various and usually conflicting reports that suggest scrapping all or parts of KiwiSaver and suggest that the provision for retirement savings in New Zealand is too generous. Those reports nearly all come from Bill English and John Key.