Mike's Minute: The super debate is fraught

The Mike Hosking Breakfast

As we enter yet another round of the superannuation debate, I note it was led off last week by a group that wanted what they termed a “top up“, i.e. a pay rise for those who couldn’t save.

You can see how fraught that concept is from the get go.

Why couldn’t you save? You had 40 years. Actually, that’s another aspect of this whole mess that’s changed.

Do you have 40 years? Or 50 years? People work longer so surely a chance to save more?

Superannuation fits an almost unique category of topics that is so entrenched it won't change.

It’s a futile exercise. A few bring it up, only to be beaten down by the time-honoured belief that, for whatever reason, if you get to 65 you are owed something by the state if you paid your taxes.

Of course, your taxes have been well and truly spent. For most people, whatever you handed over is long gone and in that is one of the great sadnesses of the New Zealand economic story.

We have very few net creditors, but a lot of net debtors.

People who actually pay more to the system than take from it are rare indeed.

When I started work in 1982, I took out a scheme whereby if you put a few dollars a week aside you would become a millionaire by the time you got to 60. I had completely forgotten about it, mainly because I stopped paying because I worked out it was bollocks.

I was reminded the other night when a text came through from an old girlfriend who had, when we were together, taken out her own but had stuck with it.

40 years later she was to collect $106,000.

Not quite a millionaire and not really a stunning return on investment.

But what I had worked out all those years ago was the Government were not to be part of my retirement. Why would they be?

Governments let you down. Governments change rules and have their own interests at heart, not yours.

So I sorted myself. Am I lucky? Not really.

Did I work hard? Yes.

Do I care what the retirement age is? No.

Do I care what the rules are? No.

That’s the value of charting your own course and not being beholden to overlords.

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