Tax Cuts for Retirement Saving

While a step in the right direction, the speculated tax cuts linked to savings in the Kiwisaver programme have one major flaw - that they are linked only to the Government's opt-out retirement scheme.

Many people have taken advantage of work-based schemes, or others have maintained their own private schemes for sometime.

Let's face it, the prospect of living on just over $200 per week (that's the married rate of super) is not exactly appealing. Saving for retirement is a laudable goal that has it's own benefit - and if the Government really wants to encourage these savings it should reward all those who are making the right steps.

Why make the Government run the only one available for tax incentives? Just because other schemes are not Government provided doesn't make them any less laudable, nor should they be less encouraged to be contributed to.

In reality, if the Government wanted to encourage people to save more, they would give us real reductions in taxation so we could all have a bit more in our pay to save. (And cut all the fluffy non-necessary spending so it wouldn't be inflationary)