Submissions open on new 'protection of KiwiSaver members' bill

The private member’s bill, introduced last month by Labour backbencher Dr Tracey McLellan, aims to restore some financial protections originally given to KiwiSaver members by the Employment Relations Act 2000.

That was amended by the National government’s Employment Relations Amendment Act 2008, resulting in employers not being legally required to offer the same terms or benefits to KiwiSaver members as non-members.

Under current legislation, employers are not legally obliged to offer workers enrolled in KiwiSaver the same terms of employment, salary or wages, conditions of work, fringe benefits, or opportunities for training and promotion and transfer, as a worker not enrolled in the scheme. Employers can also offset pay increases against workers’ KiwiSaver contributions.

These settings could potentially disadvantage New Zealanders saving for their retirement, as they expose KiwiSaver members to potential discrimination due to their membership, meaning they may receive lesser protections than people who are not members of KiwiSaver.