Superannuation - CathNews New Zealand https://cathnews.co.nz Catholic News New Zealand Mon, 16 Jul 2012 22:17:35 +0000 en-NZ hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://cathnews.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/cropped-cathnewsfavicon-32x32.jpg Superannuation - CathNews New Zealand https://cathnews.co.nz 32 32 70145804 Day of Prayer for Migrants - Was Winston the answer? https://cathnews.co.nz/2012/06/19/winnie-peters-marks-day-prayer-refugees-migrants/ Mon, 18 Jun 2012 19:30:55 +0000 http://cathnews.co.nz/?p=27770

On the day when Catholics throughout New Zealand were praying for refugees and migrants Winston Peters suggested that New Zealand's superannuation fund could be conserved by making elderly migrants ineligible. He told the the New Zealand First Conference in Palmerston North on the weekend that migrants were taking advantage of the universal pension scheme. Singling out "a Read more

Day of Prayer for Migrants - Was Winston the answer?... Read more]]> On the day when Catholics throughout New Zealand were praying for refugees and migrants Winston Peters suggested that New Zealand's superannuation fund could be conserved by making elderly migrants ineligible.

He told the the New Zealand First Conference in Palmerston North on the weekend that migrants were taking advantage of the universal pension scheme.

Singling out "a young couple from China" who could bring in four elderly parents, he said migrants could arrive in New Zealand at 55, not work for a decade, and receive full super and healthcare at 65.

He estimated there were 22,000 elderly migrants from countries with no reciprocal pension agreement with New Zealand.

The Prime Minister, John Key responded to Peters on Monday. He said migrants paid more in tax than they consumed in superannuation. Key said there were 14,000 migrants, who came to New Zealand after the age of 56, receiving superannuation. If these 3444 are Chinese.

If all all 14,00 were single and living alone, which is the highest super payout available, they will get $698 in the hand a fortnight. At the most they'd be costing $254 million net a year.

Peters disputed the Prime Minsters figures, but was unwilling to explain how he had obtained his own statistics.

Peters' announcement has been described by some commentators and a "Double Bandwagon" and a "Perfect Marriage", combining in one policy the issues of migrants and of superannuation.

The day of Prayer for Refugees and Migrants takes place on the Sunday closest to World Refugee Day which is on 20 June.

A number of activities have been planned to mark World Refugees Day in New Zealand.

An alternative solution to the superannuation problem has been suggested in the Financial Services Council's major new report on the pension system. It proposes the equivalent of the biblical system of tithing, where 10% of income is set aside for the church.

Source

Day of Prayer for Migrants - Was Winston the answer?]]> 27770 Net wealth of the 55+ has risen 179.5% in 10 years https://cathnews.co.nz/2012/03/27/net-wealth-of-the-55-has-risen-179-5-in-10-years/ Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:29:12 +0000 http://cathnews.co.nz/?p=21858

According to the recently released Roy Morgan Report, State of the Nation Report 4 - ‘Spotlight on New Zealanders Aged 55+' - the net wealth of the 55+ has risen 179.5% since 2002, despite New Zealand's total net wealth only rising 130.2% over the same period. This group now has over 50% of the nation's net wealth, despite Read more

Net wealth of the 55+ has risen 179.5% in 10 years... Read more]]> According to the recently released Roy Morgan Report, State of the Nation Report 4 - ‘Spotlight on New Zealanders Aged 55+' - the net wealth of the 55+ has risen 179.5% since 2002, despite New Zealand's total net wealth only rising 130.2% over the same period. This group now has over 50% of the nation's net wealth, despite making up only 24.7% of the population.

The net wealth of the 55+ in New Zealand has risen from 43% ($176 billion) of the population's total net wealth in 2002, to 52% ($492 billion) in 2011.

The rise in wealth of the 55+ age group is only partly due to this group's increasing proportion of the population. Since 2002 the 55+ age group has risen only from 19.5% to 24.7% of the population.

Commentator Bernard Hickey says "The unlucky ones were those that took on massive debts in the last five years to buy houses at the newly inflated prices. They were mostly below 40."

"This structural shift in wealth to the aged and a loading up of debt on the young is obviously not sustainable, particularly when combined with the current promises of universal superannuation from 65 and publicly funded healthcare," he says.

"With the current policies, New Zealand faces the bizarre prospect of either higher income tax rates on the increasingly indebted young to pay for pensions and "free" healthcare for the increasingly wealthy old, or huge amounts of government borrowing, which would of course have to eventually be repaid by the young."

The Roy Morgan Report is based on data from a nationwide survey of approximately 12,000 New Zealanders in the 12 months to December 2011, but also includes trended data stretching back over the past decade.

Sources

Net wealth of the 55+ has risen 179.5% in 10 years]]> 21858