2. CHARLES CHAUVEL (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Finance
What reports has he received on the success of the Government’s KiwiSaver scheme?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Minister of Finance) Link to this
A KiwiSaver evaluation report released last Thursday shows that KiwiSaver is attracting members from across age groups, ethnicities, and income brackets, and KiwiSavers are expected to become even more diverse as more of them join the scheme through automatic enrolment when they start a new job. The numbers are now rapidly approaching 500,000 and the latest surveys show a significant increase in the membership of work-based superannuation schemes.
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
Yes. I have seen a report that Mr Bill English was today to outline his party’s stance on the future of the Government’s KiwiSaver scheme in a speech to the superannuation conference. In the end the speech turned out to be all flop and no flip, at least as yet, but members should continue to watch this space.
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
The latest report I have is that as of Monday, 495,000 New Zealanders have signed up to KiwiSaver. The 500,000 mark will be reached either just before Easter or just after Easter. I have also seen a report that over 100,000 young people have joined KiwiSaver, despite the Leader of the Opposition’s confident predictions that they would not join it. But then, of course, he has invested in Merrill Lynch shares. We have not seen a clear policy from National. What we know is that it voted against the KiwiSaver scheme 40 times.