Age of eligibility for NZ Super to increase to 67 after 2037

Bill English has announced:

The Government will progressively lift the age of eligibility for NZ from 65 to 67, starting in 20 years' time, Bill English announced today.

 “New Zealanders are healthier and living longer so adjusting the long-term settings of NZ Super while there is time for people to adapt is the right thing to do,” Mr English says.

The changes will be phased in from 1 July 2037 and will not affect anyone born on or before 30 June 1972.

So if you are aged 45 or older, you will not be impacted.

Even after the change, someone who retires at age 67 in 2040 is likely to receive NZ Super for longer than someone who retires at age 65 today. That is because average life expectancy is increasing by about 1.3 years each decade. …

“This Government has a strong track record of supporting older New Zealanders. Since 2008 weekly payments to superannuitants have increased by 35 per cent after tax while inflation has increased by 14 per cent.

That is a huge increase in real terms.

Good to see the Government take this step to make NZ Superannuation more sustainable. I praised for having this in 2014, and good to see the Government adopt it, even if Labour has abandoned it.

The Government has also announced the the residency eligibility for NZ Superannuation will increase from 10 years to 20 years. This is well overdue. Ten years was too short a period for someone to live here and get such a generous superannuation scheme. Winston has been pushing on this for a while, and a rare area he is right about.

No doubt Andrew Little will condemn this announcement, despite it being what his party campaigned on at the last election.

Once fully implemented these changes will save taxpayers $4 billion a year.

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