KEY POINTS:
It's hard to find much enthusiasm for the new KiwiSaver scheme in a sampling of lunchtime shoppers in the Manukau Mall.
They're either too young to have thought about it, can't afford to save, already have their own savings plans, or else they're so close to retirement that
it's too late to bother.
Only 15 out of 25 shoppers questioned by the Herald had even heard of KiwiSaver.
Only seven plan to join it.
The sampling sheds some light on the more scientific finding in a Herald DigiPoll of 600 people last month that two-thirds of the population did not already have a retirement savings scheme, and of those, only 37 per cent planned to join KiwiSaver. Fully 52 per cent did not plan to join.
The public is out of line with the pundits. Political correspondent John Armstrong, for instance, wrote the morning after the May 17 Budget that, "It would seem stupid for people not to accept an offer which Dr Cullen is making so difficult to refuse."
Put 4 per cent of your income into KiwiSaver, Dr Cullen told the public, and we'll double your money up to $20 a week.
On top of that, your employer will have to chip in 1 per cent from next April, rising to 4 per cent from 2011, so effectively you'll be tripling your money. And that's not counting a $1000 "kick-start" gift from the Government just for opening a KiwiSaver account, and another gift of up to $5000 towards a deposit for your first house if you keep your money in for five years.
A few Manukau shoppers have got the message.
"You get the $1000 start-up, that's pretty good, and the company contributions and the Government contributions and stuff. It's better than just putting it in the bank," said Papatoetoe town planners Chris Butler, 25, and Emma Bayly, 23.
"I think it's a great idea," said Lynette Hardwidge, 41, also of Papatoetoe. "I have a younger daughter to think of, if there is anything I can do to help her I'll do it. I can afford to save probably up to $50 a fortnight."
Shop duty manager Virendra Prasad, 48, says he can afford to save but is not in a super scheme so he plans to join KiwiSaver. His wife, a process worker at Griffins, will join too.
"We are saving already," he said. "I think it's a good alternative."
David Lampp, a 54-year-old Inland Revenue official, already pays 3 per cent of his income into the state sector retirement savings scheme and will join KiwiSaver as well.
"I can afford 7 per cent," he says. "You never know what's going to happen for retirement - whether the Government is going to change around national super and the age of eligibility, so it's important that individuals take responsibility for their retirement."
Another middle-aged man who declined to give his name also planned to join. "You get the extra money on top of it," he said.
A few others were unsure whether they could join the scheme, but said they probably would if they could.
Nicholas and Lindan Pene, both 38, don't fit into the scheme easily because Nicholas works in a West Australian gold mine, commuting back to Auckland every few weeks, while Lindan stays at home with 18-month-old toddler Xavien-Wolf and two school-aged children.
"If I was working, definitely [I'd join]," says Lindan.
Nicholas already pays into a super scheme in Australia and hadn't thought he could pay into KiwiSaver as well. Told that he could, he said: "I probably would like to. It's money for nothing."
University student Melissa Peters from Te Kauwhata said she would join when she got a fulltime job. "It sounds good," she said.
But many others of her age had never heard of the scheme and were not joining.
"No thanks. Don't know why," said sisters Eseta and Jane Likio, aged 18 and 22. "Why should I?" asked Mariana Stout, 16, who is studying computing.
"Not at this point in my life," said John Tenman, 22, who was selling clothes for Hallensteins at a temporary stall in the middle of the mall. Asked why, he said: "Personal stuff. I need the money for family, quite a lot of things."
Joseph Hope, also 22, said, "I wouldn't mind joining if I had a job." But he's on the dole.
Elizabeth Sommers, running another stall for Westfield, said: "I'm only 17 so probably not. I couldn't afford it. I might look at it in a few years."
Some older people also simply didn't have spare money.
"I'm supporting a family. All my money goes. There's nothing left over," said Carol Kay, 47, who works for a finance company.
Belinda Kay-Ruakere, 33, was leaving last week with her three children to join her husband, who had gone ahead to find a job in Australia. She hoped KiwiSaver would give other Kiwis a reason to stay in New Zealand, but for her it was too late.
Others had their own savings plans.
Linda Peters, Melissa's mother, is married to a Te Kauwhata farmer and views the farm as her retirement savings.
Tangata Arama, 23, another Inland Revenue employee, is already in the state sector retirement scheme and didn't think she would need KiwiSaver as well.
Factory manager Lorenzo Job, 43, already runs a scheme for his own staff where the company contributes 5 per cent of their incomes, 1 per cent more than KiwiSaver will offer in its final form.
"The belief is that there is no need for us to join KiwiSaver," he said.
John Brown, 59, has retired early on his own investments and said: "I don't want anything to do with KiwiSaver. It's Helen Clark and I'm not too keen on Helen Clark."
And real estate agent Kim McLeod, 47, believes she can get a better return on her money by investing in property than she could even by tripling it in KiwiSaver.
"I can make $50,000 a year buying a house," she said. "I'm prepared to buy two investment properties - that's our 15-year plan."
