Super. ‘scrapping’ denied

Press, 22 September 1987, Page 3

Super. ‘scrapping’ denied

By OLIVER RIDDELL in Wellington The Opposition spokesman on finance, Miss Ruth Richardson (Nat, Selwyn), has denied suggesting that national superannuation be scrapped. Her comment steins from complaints that her suggestions were “unnecessarily stressful on elderly people.” Miss Richardson was criticised by the former Mayor of Tauranga, Mr Bob Owens, after a weekend article in an Auckland newspaper which she said “misrepresented in a mischievous manner remarks I made in an inter-

During the election campaign National had announced its policy on superannuation as being that over a 20-year phasein it would raise the age of entitlement from 60 to 65 years. That was still National’s policy, she said. What she was trying to do as part of her responsibility for the finance portfolio was to initiate a debate on how people could achieve financial security 20 years hence when that change had been implemented.

“The real issue is — should we be looking solely to the State to de-

liver economic security to the elderly or are there other routes?” Miss Richardson said. One possible other route she wanted to can-

vass was having a tradeoff during people’s working lives — that they pay less tax to the State in return for taking responsibility for their own superannuation through the private sector.

She was warning people, too, that being dependent on the State meant that they would also be vulnerable to the traditional track record of the State to change the rules half-way through the

game. That was one of the disadvantages in relying on the word of politicians to deliver security to the elderly.

As part of her economic responsibilities, Miss Richardson planned to look to the real economy. The report of the Institute of Economic -Research showed . the productive sector subjected to unre-

lenting pressures. Growth in Government activity was adding to those pressures. Her belief was that the State had a mandate to do three things — provide territorial security

(through defence pacts and foreign relations), personal security (through the police and law and order policies), and, economic security (by

creating an economic climate in which the productive sector could perform). “It is clear from the institute’s report that the present Government has its policy mix wrong, and

the growth in the size of the State is part of that," Miss Richardson said. “The State is too dominant in the economy and so we must address the State’s appetite for resources.”