No response - no super, woman claims

A 75-year-old Kaitaia woman and her new 91-year-old husband were fuming last week after claiming Work and Income stopped her superannuation, because she had gone to the South Island without its knowledge and hadn't responded to correspondence.

However, Work and Income says the woman's claims are not as simple as that, and the matter was complicated by the couple's refusal to provide information required by law.

The woman, who did not wish to be named, was married in January, and immediately informed W&I in Kaitaia that her surname had changed. That did not seem to cause any particular consternation.

However, the couple said they returned from their South Island sojourn to find two letters from the organisation. The first, sent in March, requested additional information about her husband, the second, sent in April, noted the information sought had not been received, and advised the woman's superannuation had been stopped.

"This is absolutely ridiculous," she said last week.

"I've been getting super since 2002. They know who I am. That hasn't changed. They know what I'm entitled to. That hasn't changed. They know my surname has changed, and I've given them documentation about that."

Her husband, an Australian national who receives a war pension from there and does not collect NZ national superannuation, was equally unimpressed.

"This is pure information-gathering," he said.

"I would be happy to give the information they want to Internal Affairs for a proper purpose, but not to them. I can see no reason why they want these questions answered."

Among the information required were details of where he had lived outside Australia over the previous 91 years, why he had lived outside Australia and where he had worked.

"Maybe they think I'm a terrorist," he said. "If I am I'd be the oldest living terrorist in the world."

His wife was further outraged when she was told that she should have informed WINZ that she was going to be away from home. The department would then have known that she would not receive the letters.

"Centre Link in Australia knows everything they need to know about me," the husband said, "and if this is a reciprocal thing between governments all they have to do is ask them," he said.

"I'll give Internal Affairs my life story if they need it, but I'm not giving it to these people. I don't see that it is any business of theirs."

But Warren Hudson, head of senior services, Ministry of Social Development said the organisation was keen to ensure the couple received the correct rate of NZ superannuation and he gave an reassurance that no payments have been missed.

"They were informed shortly after they were married that we would need further information about the husband's Australian pension to ensure the wife was receiving the right rate of NZ Superannuation," Mr Hudson said.

"We wrote to the couple in March and April and we then tried to contact them by phone them in May. Unfortunately they went on holiday without providing the information we required to reassess their entitlement.

"When a client's situation changes, such as getting married, they have a legal obligation to provide the information needed to reassess their entitlement. We were worried that without this information the wife's pension would be paid at the wrong rate and she may have had to repay an unnecessary debt."

He said after talking to the couple to get a reassurance that they would bring the information in, W&I restored her NZ Superannuation to ensure no payments were missed.