Labour wants to create more savings products
Labour is not convinced savings matter to National as it has taken two years and two Budgets to take action, says opposition Finance Minister David Cunliffe.
Tuesday, August 31st 2010, 7:04AM
by Jenha White
The Government last week announced that it had appointed an independent Savings Working Group which has a wide brief to consider how New Zealand can improve its national savings.
Speaking at the Workplace Savings conference in Christchurch last week, Cunliffe said Labour will lead the way on increasing savings.
He says the party has invested in a wide-ranging review of savings policy which it will release at a time of its choosing with consideration based on when the Savings Working Group report is released.
Cunliffe made it clear that he believes National's move to suspend contributions to the New Zealand Super Fund was "wrong".
He says the fund should underpin retirement incomes and be pre-funded to ensure it is effective over the long term.
He says Labour's vision for the retirement savings sector in 2020 is for all New Zealanders to have the ability, incentive and tools to save for the future and to help the New Zealand economy with better income and savings.
He says in its scope are a range of options to improve KiwiSaver. These include improving its scale, lifting rates of contribution and levels of incentives, accelerated and broadened entry, a review of exit provisions and finding the right balance between flexibility and security.
Cunliffe says Labour also wants to introduce better products to help households save.
He says before KiwiSaver, four out of five people in New Zealand had no assets saved and people are now reluctant to save beyond KiwiSaver because many have had their "fingers burnt" in retail investment and finance companies.
He says there needs to be low risk options available and that Labour would make infrastructure bonds available at retail level.
Jenha is a TPL staff reporter. jenha@tarawera.co.nz
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