COMMENT: A major Australian Productivity Commission report on superannuation presents an opportunity to compare retirement savings on both sides of the Tasman.
Unfortunately, the comparisons are not flattering — New Zealanders have private superannuation assets of only $17,100 per capita compared with A$111,300 ($118,400) per capita in Australia (see table).
If we include the two sovereign funds — Australia's Future Fund and the NZ Superannuation Fund — total NZ superannuation assets are $25,200 per capita compared with A$117,200 across the Tasman.
Why do New Zealanders have significantly less retirement assets than Australians and how can we reduce this massive gap?
New Zealand stole a march on Australia in 1975 when Norman Kirk's Labour Government introduced a compulsory superannuation scheme with individual accounts.