29 May 2015

Plea to improve KiwiSaver for low income earners

2:59 pm on 29 May 2015

The Financial Services Council says the Government should think of ways to make KiwiSaver affordable for low income earners.

New Zealand money.

Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson

At the moment, people can choose to opt in to the retirement savings scheme, but the Government is considering joining everyone up to KiwiSaver, unless they specifically apply to be excluded.

The council's chief executive, Peter Neilson, supports the idea, but said it was not easy to save, particularly for low earners.

He said figures showed 60 percent of people with average incomes were enrolled in KiwiSaver, compared to 40 percent of those on a low income.

Mr Neilson said that showed there was an affordability issue, and it may help to have some people contribute less than the required 3 percent of income a year at first.

Get the RNZ app

for ad-free news and current affairs