KiwiSaver wins praise from international body

Finance Minister Michael Cullen today welcomed a report from the British -based Pensions Policy Institute praising the KiwiSaver scheme and suggesting it might provide some useful ideas for Britain. "Features identified by the Institute as potentially appealing in the British context are: automatic enrolment with a voluntary opt-out provision, a simple design, a visible flat rate incentive, low administration costs directly controlled by the government, a holistic approach to saving and help with home buying," Cullen said. "KiwiSaver was the centrepiece of Budget 2005 and has the capacity to improve household savings levels and to develop a stronger savings culture in New Zealand. "Both these objectives offer positive benefits to the economy as a whole and to the individual saver since financial security brings with it greater freedom and choice. "I am delighted to get such a strong endorsement from an expert in the savings and superannuation area," Cullen said. This is a media release from Michael Cullen, Minister of Finance