Liz Greive set up Spend My Super so that those who don't need the extra money can help kids in poverty. Photo / Supplied
Liz Greive set up Spend My Super so that those who don't need the extra money can help kids in poverty. Photo / Supplied
When Liz Greive opened a letter telling her she would soon be entitled to receive superannuation payments, his first thought was, "I don't need this".
"I'm very, very fortunate," Greive, now 66, said.
"There are so many people out there who could really do with this and it would transformtheir lives. It set me off on the track of thinking, 'how can I give this to somebody who needs it'.
"I realised there would be other people out there who had a surplus."
It was that moment which saw the wheels put in motion for the formation of Spend my Super.
It's a charity which encourages people to donate all or part of their superannuation payments to one of 12 organisations which aim to help children living in poverty or eliminate the issue.
Greive ran her own business in the UK before the family moved to New Zealand where her husband Chris Greive worked as managing director of Flight Centre New Zealand. The couple are now the main shareholders of the Barkers fashion label.
Throughout their careers the couple were able to "accrue a comfortable amount of money to live on". They now lead separate lives with the charity's founder now spending part of each year in Spain.
About two years after Greive opened her superannuation letter, Spend My Super was officially launched at a function at Government House early last month.
Before the organisation had even launched a marketing campaign, dozens of people had signed up.
"It has been extraordinary."
The organisation had chosen and carefully vetted 12 organisations that supported children around New Zealand which donors could choose to direct their money to.
Greive believed those most in need were young families who were struggling to put food on the table.
"You think about what those children's potential is and how it's being diminished by living in such dire poverty.
"So many of those parents are really working hard and trying their best or have themselves been a victim of cyclical poverty or abuse."
It's about all those silver-haired people coming together to do something about these children who are being born into quite dire conditions.
Statistics showed about 1 per cent of superannuants were so wealthy they did not even collect their payments, which would total about $110 million a year. That was money Greive said could be going to the charities they supported.
But it was not just those who could afford to give away all their superannuation that the organisation was targeting.
"This isn't about the very well-heeled. This is about people who can give just a bit [of their superannuation].
Spend My Super chief executive Sarah Trotman hopes to mobilise the country's 600,000 superannuitants to make a difference in the lives of the one in four New Zealand children living in poverty. Photo / Getty Images
"It's about all those silver-haired people coming together to do something about these children who are being born into quite dire conditions.
Chief executive Sarah Trotman said they were hoping to mobilise the country's 600,000 superannuitants as a generation to make a difference in the lives of the one in four New Zealand children living in poverty.
"One generation supporting the future of New Zealand," she said.
And because Spend My Super was fully funded by generous donors, 100 per cent of the money donated by those who signed up went directly to their chosen charity.
Greive's plans don't end there. She hopes the model can be picked up by other countries like the UK.
