Dunne Peter: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeDunne Peter: General Debate[Sitting date: 10 April 2013. Volume:689;Page:9237. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon PETER DUNNE (Leader—United Future): This afternoon I want to talk about a subject that will affect all of us at some point in our lives. A few days ago I saw a billboard that said that 15 percent of the children born this year will live to be well in excess of 100 years. The issue that that highlighted and highlights for us is the issue of superannuation. This country has been grappling with that issue unsatisfactorily really for the last 30 years.At the last election we saw the position taken by the two major parties which was a polarised extreme in many senses: the National Party saying that the age of entitlement will remain 65 in perpetuity effectively; the Labour Party saying that over a period of time it wishes to raise the age to 67. The problem with both those positions is as follows: one is inflexible and the other imposes a burden on working people to stay in the workforce well beyond the time that they might have planned to retire.We are starting to see a rising tide of public information and public questioning now about the viability of the system. No one is seriously suggesting that we should cut the pension—no one apart from the far right. No one is seriously suggesting a radicalincrease in the age of entitlement. But what people are seeking is more flexibility and more choice and I note with interest a recent newspaper survey that put a couple of propositions before New Zealanders. When people were asked whether they favoured the status quo of 65 raising the qualifying age to 67 or giving people the option of retiring later for a bit more or earlier for a bit less nearly 50 percent—49 percent—favoured the flexible approach. The status quo was favoured by 29 percent and 15 percent wanted to go to 67.Within that survey is the answer to the question that New Zealand confronts and that is why United Future as part of its confidence and supply agreement is promoting the concept of flexible superannuation. A person who makes the choice to retire early at say 60 would get around 65 percent of the core entitlement of New Zealand superannuation the person retiring at 65 would get 100 percent and the person who chose to defer retirement until age 70 or to defer picking up their superannuation would get around 130 percent of the core entitlement. What that recognises is a couple of things: firstly New Zealanders are working longer and secondly—and probably most important in the context of this debate—they want the choice about when they retire. They do not want to be told by the State that they have got to work 2 more years to 67 to qualify. They are uncertain about the viability of 65. They want to be able to arrange their affairs in a way that they can make the choice.What makes this policy even more attractive is that with the increasing uptake of KiwiSaver in years to come we will have many many more New Zealanders qualifying for a KiwiSaver payout at the age of 65. So the argument that is raised by some that you cannot afford to retire early on a reduced rate of superannuation will be diminished by the fact that people actually know that there is a big nest egg coming at 65.Flexible superannuation provides an answer to the issue that confronts New Zealand. It does not cut the overall level of pension expenditure but it certainly stabilises it. It gives New Zealanders more choice about when they retire and people who feel that they are physically exhausted long before 65 can make some plans with certainty about picking up superannuation at a reduced rate at an earlier time. Others who feel hale and hearty or who are in a position where they are financially independent could well choose to work later and then pick up their superannuation later.There will be within the next few months a discussion paper issued publicly as part of our confidence and supply agreement inviting public feedback on this issue. But what I note with interest is the overwhelming support that the newspaper poll indicated already before this issue has really had a huge amount of traction in the public. I note also the interest that I have had from the Leader of the Opposition and from Government Ministers.This is an idea whose time is rapidly coming. New Zealanders know that things have got to change. If you go back 50 years the age profile in New Zealand was the classic Christmas tree. Now it looks much more like a lamppost. It is probably going to become more like an inverted Christmas tree in the future. What we have to do now is plan for that time and put in place a sensible approach to superannuation that is sustainable and that will last for future generations and Flexi Super is that answer.