NZ
Pension Abuse
New
Zealand was one
of the first
countries in the world to provide a universal state pension for its
citizens, funded
through general taxation. Over the years,
bureaucrats and politicians have restricted this provision to the
extent that, today, one in every four New Zealanders discovers that
his/her
inalienable right to the much-vaunted "Universal
Pension" no longer
exists.
All
immigrants and
Kiwis working offshore who have saved for their retirement in overseas
programs
before coming, or coming back, to New Zealand are forced to forfeit
those
savings to the New Zealand government - in return for New Zealand’s
"Universal
Pension".
In
the face of
bureaucratic
stone-walling and political indifference, concerned Kiwis at home and
abroad
have joined together to create this website in order to make public the
dishonest and unfair treatment in store for immigrants and New Zealand
citizens
returning from working overseas.
The
website, tracing
the case
history of Ruth, a woman denied the "Universal Pension" because - in the eyes of the law - she married the
wrong man, details the impossible task elderly people face in
attempting to
obtain justice; it examines the mechanisms in place to prevent
challenges to
the government on pension discrimination and how every avenue of appeal
has
been blocked.
The
website exposes
a culture of
deception pointing to malfeasance at high levels
of government.
NZ Pension Abuse
remains
committed to publishing the truth about New Zealand’s retirement
policies for
the world to see. It is our hope that
the notion of fair-play dear to all New Zealanders will eventually
prevail, and
that we will ultimately have the responsible leadership capable of
recognizing
that abusing the pension rights of elderly citizens is unacceptable.
For
4 years, cabinet ministers went to extreme lengths to suppress a series
of government-commissioned reports detailing major problems with NZ
Super. With
the intervention of the Ombudsman, key information has finally been
released. These links explain the enormous significance of the
reports:
New
Zealand
Superannuation
The
direct deduction policy
Sections
69G - 70
Special
Banking Option
Overseas
pensions
Ombudsman
appeals to reason and fairness
The
Roe Case and High Court decisions
The
Human Rights Commission
Petitions
Review
of New
Zealand Superannuation
The
government's
efforts to conceal and deny the truth
What
the government was told it needed to do
Crown
ministers betrayed their contempt
for the law and the public
Cabinet proposed tax rebates in lieu of
NZ Super
Government
perpetrates
benefit fraud
Justifying
discriminatory policy
Contradictions
and inconsistencies
Parliamentary
parties' responses
Reform
Action and
support
Sections
69G - 70, Social
Security Act 1964 (1 page)
Court
summary, the
Roe Case (9 pages)
Government
response to select committee report on petition (1
page)
Review
of New Zealand Superannuation: 2004
Report (37 pages)
Review
of New Zealand Superannuation: 2005
Report (39 pages)