A National Government will ensure superannuation remains sustainable by progressively increasing the age of entitlement from 65 to 67 starting in 2037, National’s Finance spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says.

“In 2017 National went into the election campaign committed to raising the age of superannuation entitlement to 67 in 20 years’ time. We made this commitment to ensure the long-term sustainability of the scheme. We will again campaign on this.

“When the current retirement age was set at 65 in 2001, a retiree could expect to spend about a fifth of their life receiving superannuation. That has since increased to around a quarter of their life.

“Those eligible for superannuation at 67 in 2040 can still expect to receive it for a quarter of their life on average.

“Our Economic Discussion Document released today proposes an increase in the required residency for a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident from 10 to 20 years.

“In addition, we’re proposing allowing KiwiSaver employer contributions to continue beyond the age of 65 if the individual chooses to remain in the workforce.

“We also want New Zealanders’ views on whether we should consider changing the default settings on KiwiSaver funds from ‘conservative’ to either ‘balanced’ or ‘growth’ funds.

“We’re doing the work in Opposition now so we’re ready to hit the ground running in 2020.

“National wants a superannuation scheme that’s sustainable for future generations. We won’t turn a blind eye to the future affordability of the scheme like the current Government. We believe in a fair system which will help seniors have a comfortable retirement.”

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