Ageing costs

Nigel Latta (‘‘Defusing a retirement timebomb’’, Focus, August 21) points out what we have known for some time, our population is ageing. We can agonise all we like and some of us can keep working in our 70s, but the majority have grown to old age in an environment of superannuation. Sure we should have saved $500 and more a week to plan for retirement, but realistically only a small per cent can do that. Governments do what they all do, as little as possible, and concentrate on getting votes. So we have only two choices, compulsory euthanasia at some defined age, or get a government that will plan how to fund properly what is definitely the future for all of us. Phil Malpas, Otaki Latta normally presents his topics in a thoughtful and insightful manner. Not this time. His rant lacked depth, insight and knowledge. Full of misinformation, myth, inaccurate perceptions and wallowing in hysteria, it added nothing of value to the retirement income discussion. NZ Superannuation and KiwiSaver are recognised as world leaders as retirement income models, with NZ Super both affordable, effective and fair. Bankruptcy for the country in the 2020s is a ludicrous statement. Alec Waugh, Takapuna