Labour's policy to progressively raise the retirement age to 67 years by 2033 will come too late because the "Baby Boomers" will have retired by then, a demographer says.
Opposition Leader Phil Goff says the 12-year roll-out to raise the age of pension entitlement means no one now aged 57 and over will be affected by the change.
"For those aged 46 to 56, the age of eligibility will rise by two months a year, and for people 45 and under, they'll be retiring at 67," he says.
The director of the National Institute of Demographic and Economic Analysis at Waikato University, Professor Natalie Jackson, says New Zealand's median population age has risen to 37, and by 2033 the "official" baby boomer population - born between 1946 and 1965 - will already be between 67 and 87 years of age.
"It won't do anything at all to resolve the impact of the baby boomer wave, and will actually make things harder for those who will then be approaching 67, and whose taxes will have been stretched to pay for the boomers."
"A more sustainable approach might be to encourage those who are fit and healthy and actually want to carry on working, to waive their right of access at 65, for perhaps a slightly higher payment at a later age depending on when they do decide to retire."
In New Zealand, the employment to population ratio for females 65 and over has increased by 185 per cent since 1990; while for males 65 and over it has doubled, which suggests many older people want to keep working for longer, she says.
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