Reforms to New Zealand Superannuation Eligibility: Are They a Good Idea?

Abstract

This paper examines the recently announced (March 2017) reforms to New Zealand Superannuation (NZS), raising the age of eligibility to 67 from 2037 and changing eligibility rules. With an ageing population, pensions that are indexed to wages and funded out of current tax revenues, there is much debate over the merits of existing and alternative NZS policy settings. But is this proposed reform the right call? The paper focuses particularly on the intergenerational consequences of current and reformed NZS settings, addressing two questions: (i) how are the reforms likely to impact on intergenerational equity?; and (ii) even if correct in principle, does the proposed implementation from 2037 represent unreasonable delay?