Retirement rethink divides voters as KiwiSaver and super debate heats up
Sunday, 28 June 2026
On Monday at 7.15am The Post, in partnership with ANZ Bank and Infrastructure NZ, will livestream an event on the future of KiwiSaver and superannuation
Support for means testing NZ Super remains the dominant policy preference, but a sharp rise in backing for the status quo suggests growing voter resistance to change, according to new polling.
The latest The Post/ Freshwater Strategy poll with Infrastructure New Zealand shows 35%of voters support introducing means testing, under which higher-income retirees would receive reduced or no payments.
While still the most popular single option, that figure is down eight percentage pointssince June 2025.
Support for maintaining the current system has risen to 26%, up 11 pointsover the same period.
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A further 25% of respondents favour lifting the eligibility age to 67, while 8%support funding changes through higher taxes on workers. Seven per cent remain unsure.
Taken together, the results point to a divided electorate on how to manage the long-term cost of superannuation, with no single reform option commanding majority support.
That debate will be front and centre at a public discussion on Monday, when The Post, in partnership with ANZ Bank and Infrastructure NZ, will livestream an event on the future of KiwiSaver and superannuation.
The session will feature keynote speeches from National finance spokesperson Nicola Willis and NZ First leader Winston Peters.
Across most political parties, means testing for wealthier retirees is the most consistently supported reform option.
It attracts 44% of Green Party voters and 41% of Labour supporters, alongside 32% of NZ First voters, and a steady 30 to 31% of National, ACT and Te Pāti Māori supporters.
National voters are the most willing (41%) to raise the eligibility age to 67, while NZF and TPM voters are the most likely to prefer leaving the retirement system unchanged.
The poll reveals stronger consensus around the need for broader retirement support.
A separate question shows 58% of voters believe the Government should be doing more to help Kiwis save for retirement, compared with 33% who say current settings are sufficient.
Support for greater government intervention is strongest among Green and Te Pāti Māori voters, but even among National supporters opinion is closely split.
On how retirement savings should be invested, 55% say KiwiSaver funds should be placed wherever returns are highest – including overseas markets – even if that reduces domestic investment.
By contrast, 38% prefer more investment within New Zealand, even if returns are lower.
The trade-off between present income and future savings tilts toward the short term: 59% say they would prefer a pay rise now over higher KiwiSaver contributions, with support strongest among working-age voters.
Older voters are more evenly divided, but still lean toward immediate income.
Elsewhere, one half (50%) of voters are not reliant on the value of their home to fund a comfortable retirement, including roughly one third (30%) who say they are not reliant at all.
A significant minority (38%) say they are reliant, including 10% who say they are heavily dependent on it.
That reliance is overwhelmingly concentrated among homeowners, where it jumps to 53%, compared with just 19% of renters.
It also rises with income, with a third of those earning under $70,000 saying they rely on it, compared with 46% of those earning more than $150,000.
National voters report the highest reliance on property wealth at 56%, while Green Party voters sit at the lowest level at 20%.
Freshwater Strategy interviewed n=1,038 eligible voters in New Zealand, aged 18+ online, between June 5-11. Margin of Error +/- 3%. Data are weighted to be representative of New Zealand voters.