Seniors

• Change the formulation of NZ Super, by calculating it based upon the anticipated forecasted changes to the consumer price index and increases in the average wage for the following 12 months. The current formulation creates a lag that cheats our over 65s of their full entitlement. Any unforeseen changes to inflation or wages will be adjusted at each April, in favour of Superannuitants. This will lead to a 5.4% increase in the coming year.
• Make the first $3000 of earned income tax-free. From next year, the combined effect of this tax cut and the adjustment to super referred to above will be:

  Married rate:	$21.34 extra per week
  Single living alone:	$13.88 extra per week
  Single sharing:	$12.80 extra per week

• End the disparity between the single and married rate of superannuation, by progressively equalising the rates.
• Support the pre-funding of a portion of New Zealand Superannuation to help cope with the retirement of the baby-boom generation, but review the relative merits of converting the fund to personal accounts.
• Support the KiwiSaver Scheme for workplace superannuation, including the ability to withdraw funds for the purchase of a first home.
• Closely monitor the impact of student loans, declining levels of home ownership, and the fiscal burden of increasing healthcare costs on the retirement savings of younger New Zealanders

The Cost of Living

United Future will:

• Zero-rate local body rates for GST.
• Reduce domestic electricity prices by increasing the supply of electricity, through cutting red tape to allow the construction of more generation capacity and encouraging greater competition between electricity network companies.
• Adopt a national strategy, including private sector funding, to insulate all NZ homes to at least 1977 standards, prioritising the homes of the elderly
• Promote greater use of secondary dwellings for elderly, to reduce housing costs, encourage family care, and provide peace of mind.
• Promote co-housing as an option for older people to join together to create and manage their own accommodation

Involvement in the Community

United Future will:

• Introduce a community volunteer tax rebate of up to $500 per annum (based on 100 hours work per year) for those who give up their time to work for recognised community agencies and charities.
• Ensure that our seniors continue to be actively engaged in the community by promoting business mentoring by retired & semi-retired professionals
• Promote elder involvement in the community by through SAGES, which involves older people providing on-on-one life and home skills to young families.
• Involve people over 55 to assist with early childhood, school, after school and school holiday activities, in return for a community volunteers' rebate on taxes.
• Extend the Buddy Programme of Foster Grandparents
• Increase the assistance available to Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, and ensure that Work and Income caseworkers are aware of their entitlements.
• Undertake a campaign to raise expectations of older workers and breakdown any negative attitudes of employers and the broader community towards them. The government can lead by taking steps as an employer to retain older public servants and to give them flexibility in their working lives
• Use wage-subsidies to help the older unemployed into work.
• Fund training programmes that are specifically targeted at upskilling older New Zealanders who find themselves out of work in the use of new technologies.

Security

United Future will:

• Re-introduce beat cops for every neighbourhood, and increase the number of sworn officers to 10,000.
• Introduce tax rebates for the installation of security systems and panic buttons for the infirm.
• Create a separate offence of elder abuse, increase penalties, and raise awareness of this issue.
• Introduce legislative safeguards to prevent the abuse of enduring power of attorney over seniors, e.g. through a national register, and by ensuring the presence of a medical practitioner as a witness at the time of signing.

Health

United Future will:

• Cut hospital waiting lists by allowing the public and private sector to compete for operations.
• Introduce a free annual health check-up to all over 65s.
• Extend access to the High Use Health Card to all over 65s.
• Introduce tax rebates for health insurance, prioritising concessions to over 65s first.
• Adopt an aggressive approach to combating elder suicides, particularly at the time of retirement, by improving opportunities for continuing community involvement.

Aged Care

United Future will:

• Ensure that funding for the aged care sector covers staffing costs in both residential services and in-home care, to improve certainty and transparency, and quality of care.
• Reduce the auditing process of providers from the current two (the Ministry of Health and the DHB) to one, to reduce compliance costs.
• Allow providers to negotiate with DHBs, rather than simply making a submission for DHBs to accept or reject.
• Support pay parity between nursing staff at DHBs and those in the aged care sector.
• Ensure that in-home carers receive allowances for travel
• Develop apprenticeship-style training for caregivers, allowing them to acquire qualifications while working in residential or home care environments, to ensure that they can develop a career path in this field.
• Investigate the introduction of a carer's allowance for those who stay at home to look after elderly relatives, from the starting point of providing a limited period of paid leave for those who take time off work to care for their parents in the final stages of their life.

		Return to Policies Index

Home | News | Successes | The Team | Policies | Get Involved

United Future Contacts: 0800 UFNZHQ
Parliamentary: Bowen House, Lambton Quay, Wellington E-mail: Ph: 04 471 9410