The Grey Power Federation has called on the Government to act swiftly to avoid a looming crisis for people who are solely dependent on national superannuation.

President Mac Welch said recent research revealed that the current level of National Superannuation did not provide a liveable income for people with no other revenue. Research conducted by Horizon Research on behalf of the Financial Services Council is backed up by research undertaken by Massey University and both studies clearly show that the current level of Superannuation payments fall well short of the amount of money needed to live even a subsistence lifestyle, he said.

Welch said Grey Power had consistently lobbied previous governments about the ever-widening gap between the level of current payments and the amount required to live even a frugal lifestyle, without result.

“This situation is only going to get worse as the level of home ownership decreases, those reaching retirement age with a freehold family home to sell also decreases. This means investing in a cheaper home or retirement village will not be an option for an ever-growing percentage of the retired population, making them even more dependent on National Superannuation as their sole means of support,” he said.

Welch said the Government needed to move quickly to avert this looming crisis.

“That could include increasing the level of superannuation contributions from Government funds, or making Kiwisaver compulsory. Whatever the answer, the time to act is now” he said.

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