Prime Minister talks retirement age with Amberley retirees

By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter

The retirement age could be back on the agenda in this year’s general election.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon had lunch with residents at the Amberley Retirement Village in Canterbury on Tuesday.

During the visit, Mr Luxon spoke about two big costs facing the country: Managing the ageing population and dealing with extreme weather events.

Raising the retirement age is not a new conversation, with both the Labour and National parties having past policies on raising the retirement age from 65 to 67, but it has yet to gain popular support.

‘‘There is no political consensus, but National will have something more to say about it soon,’’ Mr Luxon said.

‘‘Extending it to 67 would help the Government with funding and financing and it would mean an extra two years of savings into KiwiSaver.’’

The Government has had a focus on boosting KiwiSaver contributions to encourage Kiwis to save for their retirement.

Minimum contributions were raised to 3.5 percent from April 1, and are set to rise again to 4% from April 1, 2028.

The Government is planning to introduce new retirement village legislation later this year, which aims to provide better protections for residents and clarity for operators.

An Aged Care Ministerial Advisory Group has also been established to look into the future challenges for the aged care sector.

‘‘It can be quite profitable running a retirement village, but it can be a lot more challenging running an aged care facility,’’ Mr Luxon said.

Extreme weather: Who pays?

Managing coastal and flooding hazards is also on the Government’s agenda, with major weather events on the rise.

There have been more states of emergency declared across New Zealand so far this year, compared to last year.

But Mr Luxon said Civil Defence, councils, the National Emergency Management Agency and iwi are better prepared in responding to major events.

The Hurunui District Council began having conversations with its six coastal communities in 2020 to better manage the risk of coastal hazards.

Last the year the council purchased land on Ashworths Road, south of Amberley, to support the possible future relocation of Amberley Beach residents, whose properties are under threat from sea level rise and coastal erosion.

‘‘These are very challenging conversations and every country is wrestling with it,’’ Mr Luxon said.

‘‘The Amberley model is an interesting one. I understand it’s voluntary and residents would pay a levy over time.’’

Mr Luxon said there are big questions around ‘‘who pays’’.

‘‘It can’t just be Government or local government. It needs to include property owners, banks and insurers, and it will be across multiple Governments.

‘‘It’s not something which can get sorted in a moment in time. It will happen over 30 or 40 years and it needs a bipartisan approach.’’

A National Flood Plan is being developed for the first time, as the Government looks to be better prepared for future events with a national adaptation framework.

It will include a national flood map, which will incorporate local, regional and national flood hazard data, and is set to be completed next year.

‘‘In the 1950s and ’60s people knew not to build in certain areas, but we forgot about that in the 1970s and ’80s,’’ Mr Luxon said.

‘‘In Christchurch, Marshlands was called Marshlands for a reason.’’

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.