ACT sets out plan to raise retirement age, cut debt, spending and disability benefits

The ACT Party's fiscal plan promises to cut debt and spending, raise the superannuation age by three months every year, and cut disability benefits by $653 million.The superannuation changes would also put contributions to the NZ Super Fund on hold, and would include "compassionate access" for those who had spent "a substantial portion of their career in physically demanding jobs".Similar to the plan unveiled at the last election, the document sets out a goal of returning to 2017 per-capita spending, adjusted for inflation and population growth.This would be achieved partly by abolishing "demographic" ministries, bringing disability benefits "under control", cutting foreign aid and back-office spending, and preventing migrants claiming benefits for five years after entering the country.Operating allowances - spending - would be reduced by $400m a year, while non-welfare spending would be reduced over three years to 2017 levels - adjusted for inflation and wage growth, with increases in health, education, defence, police and children's services remaining untouched.Two policies in the plan remained mysterious: one costing $100 million a year, and the other being some kind of tax relief costing $264m in its first year rising to $303m in 2031.Leader David Seymour announced the plan at The Ever Room photography studio on Auckland's Karangahape Road, saying it was fully costed and showed ACT was "taking the hard road of truth-telling this election"."Taxpayers know the Government has too much debt. When you're paying over a million dollars an hour in interest on government debt, it's not time to make a virtue of saving money slowly," he said.New spending in the plan includes the party's proposed $2b cancer centre. The idea for the centre was put forward by candidate Paul Henry.RNZ / Marika Khabazi"Labour and their allies seem to believe greater spending is needed ... ACT rejects that thinking for two reasons. The New Zealand Government already spends as much as, or more than, most of our Pacific Rim neighbours and competitors. More fundamentally, nobody who has seen how government works would think it can make better decisions than families and businesses."The promise to scrap KiwiSaver tax is tempered by scrapping the scheme's subsidies, and revenue from the Emissions Trading Scheme would be paid out rather than reinvested in cutting emissions.The document laid out the plans to curb disability benefits by $12m in the first year, rising to $124m, $231m and $286m in subsequent years.The party would achieve this by requiring "independent medical certification against clear criteria" to access them, with "phased reassessment of existing recipients"."People with genuine, enduring conditions will retain appropriate long-term support. Consistent assessment helps distinguish those unable to work from those who can work with support, protecting the safety net and reducing avoidable dependency."Our costing is based on bringing the number of mental health claimants back to its pre-pandemic level, relative to the working-age population, over four years."New spending in the plan includes the party's already-announced policies like electronic money management for beneficiaries, a $2b cancer centre, an overstayers investigation unit, $2m for cameras to detect "anti-social noise", $150m capital contingency for a new secondary school in Epsom, and $500 investment funds for Year 11 students.