24 May 2012
For Immediate Release

Kiwisaver Automatic Enrolment Deferment Disappointing But Not Surprising

The Government’s decision to defer a plan to automatically enrol all New Zealanders into the KiwiSaver scheme in 2014-15 is disappointing.

Peter Neilson, chief executive of the Financial Services Council, whose members manage $80 billion of New Zealand’s savings and provide most life insurance coverage, said New Zealand already had a significant pension gap with Australia.

“The average Aussie worker will retire on a pension much higher than the equivalent in New Zealand. We need greater numbers of new Zealanders enrolling in KiwiSaver and contributing a higher proportion of their wages if we are to narrow the pension gap.

Auto enrolment would have enabled more New Zealanders to enrol in KiwiSaver.
The Financial Services Council will next month release the results of a major research project into the retirement needs of New Zealanders, who are living longer than their parents or grandparents.

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