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National pressed on KiwiSaver policy

By MARTIN KAY - The Dominion Post | Thursday, 13 March 2008

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National is under pressure to say whether it will keep KiwiSaver as combined nest eggs head toward $1 billion after just eight months and young workers embrace the scheme.

Figures issued to The Dominion Post show the total in KiwiSaver accounts on February 29 was just short of $600 million, with up to $150 million more in government kick-starts since December yet to be released from Inland Revenue.

A spokesman for Finance Minister Michael Cullen said the $600 million total did not include all member and employer contributions, meaning the true amount to date was likely to be closer to $1 billion.

Dr Cullen was also trumpeting figures which show one in four of the 469,330 people in KiwiSaver at the end of February were under 25.

Of those, more than 75,000 were young workers aged 18 to 24, indicating a change in New Zealand's traditionally apathetic approach to savings.

Research out today would also show that people signing up to KiwiSaver were from a range of income bands, contrary to criticisms that only those on higher salaries could afford to put aside the minimum four per cent of their pay.

With take-up well ahead of the most optimistic projections when KiwiSaver went live on July 1, Dr Cullen said it was time for National to say whether it would scrap or keep it.

A spokesman for National leader John Key said the party would release its KiwiSaver policy "in due course".

Finance spokesman Bill English said though the KiwiSaver uptake was higher than expected, it was yet to be seen whether it would be sustained.

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