Kiwisaver

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• The present National Superannuation scheme is unsustainable. The longer the government delays taking measures to restore the long term affordability of super the worse the problem will become. It is shameful the present government has refused to act.
• ACT believes that retirement is a predictable expense for which the vast majority of citizens are able to save independently, given clear signals about what the government will and will not be providing. Under the status quo, superannuation is an enormous fiscal cost that is subject to political manipulation.
• In the short term, while the government itself is in debt and running deficits, the government should abandon the unproductive policies of saving (the so-called ‘Cullen fund’) and subsidising Kiwisaver. (more here)

• Amend the Kiwisaver scheme (in line with the recommendations of the Government Savings Working Group) to establish a single default 'public fund', which could be administered by the New Zealand Superannuation Fund in order to reduce administration costs and provide transparent returns.
• Make retail investing in government bonds easy and inexpensive by retailing them in small lots (e.g. through Kiwibank).
• Strengthen the oversight and reporting for Kiwisaver schemes and superannuation schemes through the Financial Markets Authority.
• Support a stronger culture of savings and long term productive investment. (more here)

• All employees aged 18 to 65 [except the self-employed, beneficiaries, students, and people below a minimum annual income threshold] will be automatically enrolled in KiwiSaver from October 2015. This will include full-time, part-time and casual workers.
• Labour is committed to retaining the kick-start payment. The only change will be the way it is paid into KiwiSaver accounts. Under Labour’s plan the $1,000 kick-start will be spread over 5 years. This will make the scheme more affordable to the Crown.
• Labour will ask the Reserve Bank and Treasury to assess in detail the option of varying the employee contribution rate for work based savings, as a tool of monetary policy, and to report to the Government on how it could best be implemented.
• Labour will gradually increase the minimum employee contribution from 3 percent to 4.5 percent, and will gradually increase employer contributions from 3 percent to 4.5 per cent.
• Labour will retain the current 65 eligibility age to access KiwiSaver savings. (more here)

• Not available on their website yet.

• Not available on their website yet.

• Replace the KiwiSaver First Home Deposit Subsidy with a KiwiSaver HomeStart Grant, doubling the support for buying a new home and increasing the house price limits:
• Increase house price limits for the HomeStart Grant to $550,000 in Auckland, $450,000 in Wellington, Christchurch, and similarly-priced markets, and $350,000 for the rest of the country.
• Enable larger KiwiSaver First Home Withdrawals by including the member’s tax credit (meaning first home buyers will now be able to withdraw all of their KiwiSaver savings except the $1000 kick-start).
• Expand eligibility for Welcome Home Loans by aligning the house price caps with the new KiwiSaver HomeStart Grant.
• Encourage greater supply of affordable new housing. KiwiSaver HomeStart will complement our work that is freeing up land supply, reducing building material costs, reining in infrastructure and compliance costs, and investing in sector skills and productivity. (more here)

• Direct the guardians of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund to prioritise the purchasing of shares in New Zealand infrastructure companies, particularly when they are being sold by overseas investors, with the aim of building a solid base of New Zealand ownership of these assets. This shall be conducted at arm’s length, with no ministerial interference, and at the discretion of the guardians so as not to distort the market.
• Require the fund managers to invest in New Zealand infrastructure and growth industries including making funds available at competitive interest rates to the New Zealand Transport Agency, ONTRACK, and local government for capital projects.
• New Zealand First will establish a new KiwiSaver option – KiwiFund.  This will be a state run KiwiSaver provider. It will offer New Zealanders the option of a saving scheme with minimal fees and a guaranteed return of capital.
• KiwiFund will offer minimal fees because its purpose is to maximize returns to savers not make profits for fund managers and owners.
• KiwiFund will ensure that much of the projected flow of over $22 billion in fees into private providers over the next 30 years will instead go to boost the savings of New Zealanders. (more here)

• Introduce compulsory Kiwisaver, which will increase the saving rate of New Zealanders, deepen the investment pool and provide financial security and certainty in retirement.
• Seek to have a portion of KiwiSaver funds re-invested in NZ innovation and infrastructure assets. (more here)