PSA national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons, a former Labour candidate, said National had budgeted only for the cost of enrolling workers not currently in KiwiSaver, not for the higher employer contributions required for those already in the scheme.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is irresponsible and a dereliction of duty not to properly fund election promises,\u201d Fitzsimons said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to see transparency from this Government about what public, community and health services they\u2019ll cut in order to fill this hole.\u201d<\/p>\n
The union released its own analysis, calculating the \u201cunfunded extra costs\u201d at $4.5 billion over the five-year transition period from 2028 to 2033, based on Treasury wage forecasts and assuming a flat headcount.<\/p>\n
Fitzsimons said agencies would be left to absorb those costs through cuts and job losses.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t chicken feed,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s no $4.5 billion money pot just sitting around.\u201d<\/p>\n
Approached for a response, National\u2019s finance spokeswoman and Finance Minister Nicola Willis said departments would be expected to plan for the higher employer contributions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile in some cases these may lead to additional costs, these will be partially offset by increases in employer superannuation tax contributions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe additional cost will be able to be met from within future budgets so long as the Government continues to carefully prioritise public money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Willis also said it was \u201cdisappointing\u201d the union was not backing workers\u2019 desire to grow their KiwiSaver balances faster.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m surprised the PSA doesn\u2019t see providing its members with greater financial security in retirement as a priority. National does.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the Government announced its initial KiwiSaver changes at the 2025 Budget, Treasury estimated that employers would offset around 80% of that cost through lower-than-expected pay rises.<\/p>\n
The PSA\u2019s claim comes amid increased scrutiny of spending promises by all parties before the election. <\/p>\n