Shortchanging Truth

For people who write in disbelief to their Members of Parliament to ask why they are receiving just $2 a week, or Ruth receiving nothing at all, there is a division within the Ministry of Social Development in Wellington designated to send out letters intended to deal effectively with troublesome complaints. 

Their format - finely tuned over the years - skillfully denies the truth by distorting facts, evading questions and providing misleading information.  It is professional spin: obfuscation, doublespeak - an attempt to quash every complaint.  Each letter ends with a dismissal that is final.

One complainant asked for copies of his letters back after months of correspondence with the Ministry.  Copied with his original letter was a disturbingly revealing note: "Hide history".

Retirement Commissioner Diana Crossan claims that NZ Super is a Universal Pension subject to neither asset nor means testing.  It is a misleading claim, and Ms Crossan’s persistence despite objection and requests that she cease leaves her open to the question of whether she is defrauding the New Zealand public.  Disseminating incorrect information on NZ Super is irresponsible: it has unfortunate consequences for many people (particularly migrants) who only discover the truth when they reach 65 years of age.

The Retirement Commissioner has misrepresented the nature of NZ Super to visiting delegates from overseas countries with the result they leave these shores with a false impression of the nature of the New Zealand retirement program.  In an interview with The New Zealand Herald (May 16, 2005), Ms Crossan trumpets NZ Super as “A CITIZEN’S PENSION FOR ALL! Existing New Zealand Government Superannuation provides income independent of lifetime incomes”.

The facts tell a vastly different story.

For the year 2004, the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) confirmed that 52,000 people aged 65 years or more had their entitlements to NZ Super greatly reduced under Section 70 of the NZ Social Security Act.  Another 7% of our aged population, for varying reasons, received nothing at all.   Furthermore, the Ministry has informed the present cabinet that out of 155,000 New Zealanders of retirement age living in non agreement countries, only 511 (3%) are receiving NZ Super - and at just half the going rate.  Although there is doubt as to the correctness of the latter statistics, the figures available indicate that the government is defaulting on its promise to approximately 25% of elderly New Zealanders.

Last modified: February 21, 2007