New Zealand Superannuation as a Basic Income

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26686/pq.v21i3.9942

Keywords:

retirement, ageing pressures, fiscal costs, basic income, surcharge, 21st-century welfare policy

Abstract

Changing New Zealand Superannuation into a genuine basic income is a 21st-century idea that would allow a simple but effective clawback mechanism to operate through the tax system, generating useful revenue to help meet current and future government expenditure pressures in aged care, pensions, education, poverty reduction and climate change. In this article, various special tax schedules for superannuitants are modelled for 2025/26 for those who opt onto the basic income, called here the New Zealand Superannuation Grant. Significant savings are possible and could be further enhanced by alignment of the various rates of New Zealand Superannuation as set out in detail in St John (2025).

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Author Biography

Susan St. John, University of Auckland

Susan St John is an honorary associate professor and director of the Pensions and Intergenerational Equity research hub at the Economic Policy Centre, University of Auckland.

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Published

2025-08-26

Issue

Vol. 21 No. 3 (2025): Special Issue: Retirement Income Policy

Section

Articles

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