Retirement Commissioner to present KiwiSaver recommendations to the Government

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith welcomed the Retirement Commissioner's KiwiSaver findings, saying he would be giving them "considerable thought". Photo / File

The Retirement Commissioner has released a new set of KiwiSaver recommendations today, which they believe could make "a significant difference" to New Zealanders' balances and retirement outcomes.

The recommendations are being released in two phases, beginning with KiwiSaver and followed by NZ Superannuation next week.

The KiwiSaver recommendations include increasing employer and employee contributions from 3 to 4 per cent, giving employees the option to save 6 or 10 per cent of their salary, and allowing over 65s to join the scheme.

An automated option for members to increase their contributions by 0.25, 0.5 or 1 per cent up to a capped maximum rate also comes as a recommendation.

The commission said this will give members the ability to step back from KiwiSaver, knowing that their contributions and savings will increase over time.

They also recommend that the Government and business sector work together to support older workers, with retraining and career transition.

Developing guides and best practice frameworks to manage the country's ageing workforce has also been considered.

Review manager Scott McMurray said the KiwiSaver recommendations were aimed at making it easier for people to save more for the future, and providing "greater flexibility and certainty over their retirement savings".

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith welcomed the Retirement Commissioner's KiwiSaver findings, saying he would be giving them "considerable thought".

"A number of the recommendations made by the commissioner have previously been brought to my attention by the public."

Goldsmith said work was already under way to implement the commissioner's recommendation to require KiwiSaver providers to disclose the total dollar cost of all fees on annual statements.

The commission said their recommendations weren't just about "policy makers and pension geeks", but "more about voters and the public".

The information has been packaged in a series of stop motion animation videos, dubbed "Toys Talk Retirement" .

The interactive platform allows users to choose how they experience the review, and can be viewed at http://v.wirewax.com/cffcreview2016.