I disagree with the linking of New Zealand Superannuation with the low level of poverty among senior citizens of New Zealand.
That could just as easily be achieved through an income tested old age pension that could be more generous than the current superannuation payment to everybody aged over 65.
A targeted means tested old age pension could be more generous and therefore reduce poverty among senior citizens by more than the current arrangements do.
Yesterday I mentioned that it is often forgotten that we already have a near-universal indexed annuity that ensures that no elderly New Zealander need ever end up in extreme poverty.
New Zealand Superannuation is paid from age 65 to any citizen or permanent resident living in New Zealand who meets some (relatively undemanding) accumulated residency requirements, at a rate equal to (for a couple) 66 per cent of the average net wage.
Of course, nothing is risk-free in life. The New Zealand government is most unlikely to directly default on its debts in the next few decades. But there is “policy risk”: as the 2025 Taskforce put it a few years ago “New Zealand has a long history of revisiting its state pension arrangements”. But for resident New Zealanders at the bottom of the income distribution it makes perfect sense to rely almost solely on NZS for income support in…
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Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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