The future costs of retirement income policy and ways of addressing them
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26686/pq.v9i4.4466Keywords:
New Zealand Superannuation (NZS), Longer-term Fiscal Challenge, Treasury’s Living Standards Framework, pension entitlements, transitional generations, PAYGO (pay-as-you-go), age of eligibilityAbstract
New Zealand Superannuation (NZS) is a universal pension paid at a flat rate. It is effective at poverty prevention among the elderly, relatively inexpensive and simple to administer. However, with the proportion of the population aged over 65 years set to increase rapidly over the next 50 years, there is expected to be a steep rise in the costs of the scheme. The future cost of NZS is therefore a major driver of New Zealand’s Longer-term Fiscal Challenge. The Treasury’s statement on New Zealand’s long-term fiscal position (Treasury, 2013a) examines ways of addressing this cost, as well as other possible responses to the broader fiscal challenge such as higher taxation or reductions in other areas of public spending.
Downloads
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Permission: In the interest of promoting debate and wider dissemination, the IGPS encourages use of all or part of the articles appearing in PQ, where there is no element of commercial gain. Appropriate acknowledgement of both author and source should be made in all cases. The IGPS retains copyright. Please direct requests for permission to reprint articles from this publication to igps@vuw.ac.nz.
