Putting advisers into KiwiSaver coming soon: Dunne

The missing bit of KiwiSaver is where do advisers fit in. Revenue Minister Peter Dunne says this issue will be addressed soon.

Wednesday, March 15th 2006, 6:00AM

by Rob Hosking

The select committee stages of the KiwiSaver Bill should see a major focus on the issue of advice for people enrolling in the scheme, Revenue Minister Peter Dunne says.

Dunne told a Wellington meeting of the Financial Planners and Insurance Advisers Association that he expects "a major, if not the major" interest of the select committee process of the bill to be concerned with this issue.

"I think this is an area where we will see most of the interest at the select committee stage of KiwiSaver – how will the investor make a wise choice? You’re going to see that picked over very rigorously by the select committee."

Dunne says he anticipates the larger employers to put mechanisms in place for access to advice.

"Maybe the thing for employers to do is to include advice about how to get advice."

The absence of any specific provision for advisers in the KiwiSaver, or analysis of their role in the policy work preparing the bill, has been seen as something of a gap in the process thus far.

The KiwiSaver Bill – introduced to Parliament by Finance Minister Michael Cullen last week – is being discussed behind closed doors by the finance and expenditure select committee today.

That committee will call for submissions shortly.

Meanwhile, the tenders for the default providers for KiwiSaver are expected to be called for soon.

Rob Hosking is a Wellington-based freelance writer specialising in political, economic and IT related issues.

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