Summarised by Centrist
New Zealand voters appear more receptive to targeting superannuation payments than requiring everyone to wait longer to receive the pension.
An RNZ-Reid Research poll asked whether NZ Super should be means-tested so “higher income or wealthy retirees received less or no government pension”. Some 46.6% supported the proposal, compared with 40.7% opposed and 12.7% unsure.
By contrast, a “clear majority” of 58% wanted the eligibility age to remain at 65. Only 35.3% supported raising it to 67, while 6.8% were undecided.
The result comes after Finance Minister Nicola Willis highlighted Treasury forecasts showing the annual cost of superannuation rising above $30 billion by 2030. She said political parties ignoring the problem were doing so for their own benefit.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins briefly said his party was “open” to a bipartisan discussion about means-testing. He later walked that back, and Labour has now ruled out changing pension settings if elected.
The poll also found “overwhelming support” for compulsory KiwiSaver. Some 70.4% backed National’s proposal to make the scheme mandatory for workers from July 2028, while 20.2% opposed it.
However, that support “collapsed” when compulsory KiwiSaver was combined with increasing the pension age to 67. The combined package was rejected by 52% of voters and supported by only 37.6%.
