What is the Retirement Income System?
The Retirement Commissioner is required by law to develop and promote methods of improving the effectiveness of retirement income policies in New Zealand to monitor their effects.
The Retirement Income System comprises of NZ Superannuation (‘Super’), KiwiSaver, and private savings. These may be held as cash, shares, property, or other iwi models of financial planning and savings.
2025 Review of Retirement Income Policies
Every three years the Retirement Commission is required to undertake a review of retirement income policies based on Terms of Reference set by the Government. The 2025 review will focus on research relating to KiwiSaver and other savings, emerging trends and how these will play out in New Zealand over the next 25 years, the experiences of women in retirement and how New Zealand retirement policies compare globally. These insights will support the development of the final report on the findings, including a series of recommendations to help shape improved policy and interventions to support better retirement outcomes for New Zealanders.
We welcome submissions related to topics covered in the Terms of Reference. Please send them to submissions@retirement.govt.nz before 30 June 2025.
Read the full Terms of Reference here.
Purpose Statement
On 21 October 2020 the Retirement Commissioner released a statement defining the purpose of New Zealand’s retirement income system.
The purpose statement was produced with assistance from the Retirement Commissioner’s Expert Advisory Group [EAG]. The EAG was formed by the Commissioner to help her test and debate issues. It consists of iwi leadership, academics, and policy specialists with expertise in a range of areas.
The purpose statement will be used by Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission to test retirement income policy proposals and could be useful to other government and non-government entities.
“A stable retirement income framework enables trust and confidence that older New Zealand residents can live with dignity and mana, participate in and contribute to society, and enjoy a high level of belonging and connection to their whānau, community and country.
To help current and future retirees to achieve this, a sustainable retirement income framework’s purpose is twofold:
- To provide NZ Superannuation to ensure an adequate standard of living for New Zealanders of eligible age. NZ Super is the Government’s primary contribution to financial security for the remainder of a person’s life.
- To actively support New Zealanders to build and manage independent savings that contribute to their ability to maintain their own relative standard of living.
The retirement income system sits within the broader government provision of infrastructure also needed to enable older New Zealanders to live well, such as health care, housing, and transport.”
Further reading
A more detailed account of the history of Aotearoa New Zealand’s retirement income, spanning 1898 to 2008, can be found in this earlier research paper commissioned by the Retirement Commission.