Stricter NZ Super bill underway

A bill proposing a stricter New Zealand Superannuation passed its first hurdle in Parliament.

The NZ First Member’s Bill would mean migrants to New Zealand would have to wait longer for superannuation.

If passed, the bill, proposed by NZ First MP Mark Patterson, would raise the minimum residency for super from 10 years to 20 years, after age 20.

It would also retain NZ Super age at 65, a universal entitlement with no means testing and no surtaxing.

‘‘Currently, a migrant of just 10 years’ residency in New Zealand is entitled to full NZ Super without any requirement to contribute to the economy.

‘‘This would also apply to an expat Kiwi who left New Zealand at age 25 and returned at age 60 after spending 35 years contributing to another economy,’’ said Patterson.

The current coalition agreement with NZ First means Labour is committed to leaving the age at which people qualify for NZ Super at 65.

While National supports the bill, Labour has not committed to it.

National leader Todd Muller has committed to taking the party’s plan of increasing the age of entitlement from 65 to 67 starting in 2037, with incremental moves until the policy is in place by 2040.

The Greens are largely for the status quo but the party was interested in exploring ways to allow flexibility in the age that a person may receive NZ Superannuation.

ACT wants to start immediately, lifting the age of entitlement to super from 65 to 67 at a rate of two months per year finishing in 2032.

Patterson said Business and Economic Research Limited (BERL) had estimated that changing the residency requirement to 20 years would generate savings of $4.4 billion over 10 years.