Retirement job empty after a year
Maxwell still not replaced as the hunt for replacement continues
Nearly a year after the Government said it would not reappoint former Retirement Commissioner Diane Maxwell it has yet to find a replacement.
Maxwell finished in the job at the end of June after being cleared of bullying allegations following an investigation that took six months.
Although the report made a finding of no bullying, it did indicate that some previous staff had difficulty with Maxwell’s communication style.
Commerce Minister Kris Faafoi told media and Maxwell last November she would not get a third term.
He said after two terms it was appropriate to go to the market to find a replacement.
But three months after Maxwell finished Faafoi has still not named a replacement.
A spokesman said the appointment process could take time, especially for such an important, high-profile role.
“We want to be sure we appoint the right candidate . . . to provide leadership to improving New Zealanders’ financial capability.”
He said Faafoi expected to make an announcement in due course but did not give any timing on that.
The delay comes in a year in which the commissioner has to complete a three-yearly review of New Zealand’s retirement income policy.
Peter Cordtz has stepped up from his role as general manager community at the Commission for Financial Capability to be interim Retirement Commissioner and will stay in the role until a new commissioner is appointed. The report is due by December.
Faafoi’s spokesman said Cordtz’s appointment gave continuity through the review.
Pushpa Wood, director of the Westpac Massey Fin-Ed Centre, said it was unfortunate the appointment process was taking so long. “We were expecting an announcement around June/ July as the term for the commissioner ended on 30 June. I think a lack of communication to the financial capability sector is a bit unsettling.”
Wood said it was particularly frustrating given 2019 was also the review year.
“Although the work on this is happening the lack of leadership is evident in this area.”
Aaron Gilbert, head of the finance department at AUT, said the delay was unfortunate, especially given the review’s timing, but given the situation it was unavoidable.
“It is important they find the right candidate given the challenges with KiwiSaver and retirement policy in general going forward, so better they take the time and get it right.”
The Retirement Commissioner is typically appointed for a three-year term, which means the changeover to a new commissioner will always land in the same year as the review.
Two candidates are seen to be in the front running for the Retirement Commissioner’s role, which comes with a salary of about $300,000.
One is Massey University’s Claire Matthews, who has specialised in being a retirement industry commentator in recent years as the director of academic quality for the university’s business school.
The other is David Kneebone, who has been the general manager of Hong Kong’s Investor and Financial Education Council — the New Zealand equivalent to the Retirement Commission — but is returning to NZ in February.
Matthews said she could not make any comments around the role and Kneebone referred questions to Faafoi.