Three dead as India bombs three Pakistan regions
NZ Herald Live: Question time
Brooke Van Veldon makes major Workplace Relations and Safety policy announcement
Christchurch, Mairehau house fire: Firefighters battle two-storey house blaze 10 patients were assessed and treated by our crews in total. Video | George Heard
Auckland commuters face a chaotic morning after two highways leading into the central city have been majorly disrupted by crashes. Video \ NZME
NZ film industry faces uncertainty over US tariff, ongoing decline in livestock numbers and questions over longer sentences reducing reoffending.
The moa might be extinct, but they've left an imprint! Reporter Sierra is at Magnificent Moa Day where experts are revealing their incredible 3.6 million year-old find.
Emergency services are attending the fire at a McDonald's on Pakuranga Rd. Video / Supplied, Te Rina Triponel
Christopher Luxon holds a post-Cabinet press conference
Air New Zealand's chief executive talks about the $490m Dreamliner retrofit and his job. Video / Michael Craig
A video of a dog abuse incident is circulating on social media, showing a dog swinging in the air and slamming into the ground on a walk in Manurewa. Video / Supplied
A memorial tree has been planted at the entrance of St John's bush in honour of slain American entomology student Kyle Whorrall. Video \ Jason Dorday
Victim of abuse is wanting a judicial review
Goodman Group is upgrading Highbrook Crossing to add retail, dining and public space to New Zealand's largest business park in East Tāmaki. Video \ Jason Dorday
Reporter Angelina is in Auckland, where hip hop crews from all over the world are battling to see who's the best. Aotearoa group En-Locked is in the house, let's see how they do!
$2b for NZ Defence helicopters, Trump's influence on global elections, and Parliament tackles alcohol and mental health.
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8 hours ago
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Cutting superannuation costs without setting off political landmines
Photo: 123RF Means testing is being introduced on a wide range of benefits. Questions are being asked over how long it will be before superannuation is targeted. Whatever age we're at, means testing for benefits is creeping into our lives. From the Best Start allowance for parents of newborns, to the parents of teens applying for Jobseeker, and those in Kiwisaver earning over $180,000. But when it comes to the old age pension, means testing is too touchy politically, says NZ Herald political editor Thomas Coughlan. He tells The Detail why the pension is off limits, for now. "There are things we get universally. Universal free education, a lot of health services are free. But cash payments, those are mostly means tested with one big exception." Every New Zealander who hits 65 is entitled to NZ Superannuation. "You could be a billionaire or you could have absolutely nothing and you will get it. "Culturally, politically we tell ourselves that we earn superannuation, we work hard we pay taxes our whole lives and when you retire you deserve to get the benefit from the government that you have paid for for your entire working life. That is the political bargain, I guess, at the heart of superannuation." Means testing superannuation is also not as straight forward as other benefits where Inland Revenue knows exactly how much beneficiaries or their parents earn. But most superannuitants don't work, making a means test on income difficult to manage. That leaves asset or wealth testing "which is just uranium wrapped in barbed wire". Coughlan says raising the retirement age is seen as the better of "two horrible options" and National has already signalled plans to gradually raise it to 67. But that is also fraught. The Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson doesn't like either option but is "more keen on the consideration of means testing than I am of raising the age". "But if that became a thing (raising the retirement age) then I would be arguing that it's a really comprehensive and well thought through policy change that considers a retirement system as a whole, not just about NZ Super, not just about Kiwisaver but the impact overall on future citizen New Zealand pensioners," Wrightson says. She calls the debate around superannuation a gender issue. "The commentators are mainly men. The issues around NZ Super, and who gets it and when, need to be looked at with a really strong gender lens because women are the ones who get disproportionately affected." The Detail also talks to pensioner Doug Beever in Australia where the pension kicks in at 67 and is means tested. Beever says he's happy with the arrangement because all of his working life he has been paying into a private retirement fund, a compulsory version of a Kiwisaver scheme that has been in place for decades. Wrightson says that is the difference between the two countries and why we can't copy Australia's pension model. The historic superannuation plan is a reason why the country is quite well off, "because those funds are in the billions and billions now. And secondly, people have got a decent pot themselves, so when you get that you can absolutely then talk about means testing, you can talk about raising the age ... you've got more levers to your bow when your citizens have been protected by a decent regulatory environment. "This is not what's happened here." Check out how to listen to and fol low The Detail here . You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter . Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
9 hours ago
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New Zealand's mean testing creep
Photo: 123RF Means testing is being introduced on a wide range of benefits. Questions are being asked over how long it will be before superannuation is targeted. Whatever age we're at, means testing for benefits is creeping into our lives. From the Best Start allowance for parents of newborns, to the parents of teens applying for Jobseeker, and those in Kiwisaver earning over $180,000. But when it comes to the old age pension, means testing is too touchy politically, says NZ Herald political editor Thomas Coughlan. He tells The Detail why the pension is off limits, for now. "There are things we get universally. Universal free education, a lot of health services are free. But cash payments, those are mostly means tested with one big exception." Every New Zealander who hits 65 is entitled to NZ Superannuation. "You could be a billionaire or you could have absolutely nothing and you will get it. "Culturally, politically we tell ourselves that we earn superannuation, we work hard we pay taxes our whole lives and when you retire you deserve to get the benefit from the government that you have paid for for your entire working life. That is the political bargain, I guess, at the heart of superannuation." Means testing superannuation is also not as straight forward as other benefits where Inland Revenue knows exactly how much beneficiaries or their parents earn. But most superannuitants don't work, making a means test on income difficult to manage. That leaves asset or wealth testing "which is just uranium wrapped in barbed wire". Coughlan says raising the retirement age is seen as the better of "two horrible options" and National has already signalled plans to gradually raise it to 67. But that is also fraught. The Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson doesn't like either option but is "more keen on the consideration of means testing than I am of raising the age". "But if that became a thing (raising the retirement age) then I would be arguing that it's a really comprehensive and well thought through policy change that considers a retirement system as a whole, not just about NZ Super, not just about Kiwisaver but the impact overall on future citizen New Zealand pensioners," Wrightson says. She calls the debate around superannuation a gender issue. "The commentators are mainly men. The issues around NZ Super, and who gets it and when, need to be looked at with a really strong gender lens because women are the ones who get disproportionately affected." The Detail also talks to pensioner Doug Beever in Australia where the pension kicks in at 67 and is means tested. Beever says he's happy with the arrangement because all of his working life he has been paying into a private retirement fund, a compulsory version of a Kiwisaver scheme that has been in place for decades. Wrightson says that is the difference between the two countries and why we can't copy Australia's pension model. The historic superannuation plan is a reason why the country is quite well off, "because those funds are in the billions and billions now. And secondly, people have got a decent pot themselves, so when you get that you can absolutely then talk about means testing, you can talk about raising the age ... you've got more levers to your bow when your citizens have been protected by a decent regulatory environment. "This is not what's happened here." Check out how to listen to and fol low The Detail here . You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter . Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
