New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says residents of New Zealand should be here at least 25 years in order to qualify for superannuation, and he's announced an updated Gold Card to go along with it.
Speaking at the Bruce Mason Centre on Auckland's North Shore on Saturday, Mr Peters said in Canada it was 40 years, and in the UK it was 35 years.
"In this country it's been 10 years. What is wrong with a political system that can't understand the incongruity, impropriety and unfairness of that?"
On Twitter, Mr Peters also announced the arrival of the "new generation Gold Card". He said the party would provide every Gold Card member $800-$1000 on average per year tax-free.
The new super card would resemble a loyalty card like Fly Buys, and would also be a debit card with an e-wallet payment system, linked to 600,000 stores as a loyalty card.
"The Gold Card members are the biggest spending block in the country," he wrote.
"Currently the cost of NZ super is 5 percent gross of the GDP - way below rest of OECD. Right now we have 87,000 coming to NZ in the last 15 years, and got full super after just 10 years - very unfair on hard-working taxpayers.
"NZ super as a percentage of the GDP will stay the same, even with an ageing population if NZ doubles GDP by 2050. We can raise our GDP to great levels, but not possible if we continue these level of mass immigration."
It was 10 years ago his party introduced the Super Gold Card, he wrote, and it would "dump the Smart Card requirement for those who are 65 years and over".
"A lot of people in retirement age are struggling. They worked all their lives thinking the money they set aside would be enough. NZ First has not forgotten those suffering; we have ardently fought to defend the Gold Card."
There needed to be a cultural shift so that younger generations would appreciate the contributions made by the elderly, he wrote.
Mr Peters also offered three free doctors' visits and a free eye check each year, which he said would stop many people from going blind, thanks to prevention.
Newshub.
