Current settings 'could potentially disadvantage New Zealanders saving for their retirement'
The New Zealand government is asking for public feedback on its latest bill that aims to protect KiwiSaver members from potential discrimination from their employers.
The Finance and Expenditure Committee said submissions for feedback on the Employment Relations (Protection for Kiwisaver Members) Amendment Bill will be open until October 30.
The bill comes after amendments to the Employment Relations Act 2000 in 2008 created "legislative loopholes" that could potentially disadvantage these members.
Under the current settings, employers are not legally obliged to offer Kiwisaver-enrolled employees the same terms of employment, salary or wages, conditions of work, fringe benefits, or opportunities for training, promotion, and transfer, as a worker not enrolled in the scheme.
Employers are also allowed to 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," the committee said in a media release.
Protection for Kiwisaver Members
The proposed Employment Relations (Protection for Kiwisaver Members) Amendment Bill aims to address these loopholes by amending the Employment Relations Act 2000 and the KiwiSaver Act 2006.
According to the bill's explanatory note, while many of New Zealand's employers do the right thing, there is a minority seeking to circumvent their responsibilities to cut costs.
In fact, a report early this year revealed that 45% of employers are not paying their employees' KiwiSaver contributions on top of their earnings and instead are including their employees' contributions as part of their total remuneration.
"It is important that such actions are prevented to the greatest extent possible by our legislation," the bill's explanatory note said.
"This amending Bill would restore the protections provided for by the principal Act before it was amended in 2008 and ensure that the majority of workers cannot be discriminated against simply because they are members of a KiwiSaver scheme or a complying superannuation fund."
The KiwiSaver is a savings scheme in New Zealand that aims to help individuals prepare for their retirement. Since its launch in 2007, the scheme has garnered approximately three million active members.