Dear current and future pensioners,

The topics of this newsletter are:

1. The new Prime Minister and his unwelcome deputy

2. The new Minister for Seniors who can only talk to her colleagues

3. Pensioners who have only one meal per day and stay in bed on cold days

4. The Winter Energy Payment keeps only those warm who receive it

5. NZ Super payments stopped for people overwhelmed with the bureaucracy

6. Unhelpful processes and incompetence at MSD

7. “Verifying” bank fees? Can you help and/or join?

8. Six months after SSAA hearing still no ruling

9. A tribute to Christopher Arnesen

New leaders, old issues

It has been a while since my last newsletter. Since then we have got a new Prime Minister and a new deputy. The latter probably is the most disliked politician by the readers of this newsletter, as Carmel Sepuloni has presided over the Ministry of Social Development and thus the continuing unfairness around the Direct Deduction Policy for nearly six years now.

It made me cringe to read a cute home story like this: https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/sunday-magazine/people-ideas/131371257/the-rapid-ascent-of-carmel-sepuloni-our-first-pasifika-deputy-prime-minister?cid=app-iPhone where she is described as caring: “Sepuloni […] is not the kind of woman to let anyone down.”

Minster Sepuloni might be caring about issues that interest her. But we know from all these years dealing with her that an MSD Minister couldn’t be more uncaring about a minority of society, and that her priorities clearly lie in making life better for other minorities. But as a politician you should represent and be there for your entire electorate and not just for a selected few.

Carmel Sepuloni has told us often enough that she thinks that New Zealand’s pension settings are fair. She even thinks that the settings for the Winter Energy Payment (WEP) are fair and appropriate. She thinks that it is fair that only people receive the Winter Energy Payment who also receive NZ Super, even if they are millionaires, and that people who do not receive any NZ Super after the deduction of their overseas pensions do not receive the WEP either, even if they have worked their butts off in New Zealand for decades and have no other retirement income but the overseas pensions they have paid for during their working lives overseas.

This is not someone who has any sympathy for retirees who have got a rough deal due to New Zealand’s discriminatory laws that allow the Government to rip off people who have had a life before moving to New Zealand. And, let me add: who have WORKED overseas and not just lived there – as only those people who have contributed to compulsory pension schemes overseas do receive a pension.

It’s not like in New Zealand where even the laziest of the lazy are showered with NZ Super. Let’s be clear: NZ Super is more of a social welfare benefit than a pension, or the payment would not be stopped when someone travels overseas for more than six months, or if they move to the “wrong” country. Some Social Security Agreements even make Kiwis who have never left New Zealand prisoners in their own country in retirement, or, if they have moved overseas, they can’t move to a non-agreement country without losing New Zealand’s share of their pension payments.

And now to Chris Hipkins who has replaced Jacinda Ardern on 25 January. I know from emails from pensioners that our new Prime Minister has shown sympathy for the plight of ripped-off pensioners in his electorate. He promised to look into the issue.  I have not had any news since he has stepped into his new role. But I do remember very well that Jacinda Ardern was 100% on our side while in Opposition and even fought for our cause as late as 2015, and that she became the country’s chief hypocrite when she came into power only two years later, in October 2017.

Chris Hipkins’ voice regarding the pension wasn’t very loud at the time, and in his defence it has to be said that he was in different roles during his pre-PM tenure as Minister of Many Things. But since becoming the country’s leading politician, he has shown a concerning tendency of not telling the truth or twisting it. Just think of rebranding Three Waters and pretending to have made radical changes to the policy.

The new Minister for Seniors and the seniors who can’t afford to eat properly

Then there is Ginny Anderson, the new Minister for Seniors. I saw her on “Sunday” on TVNZ where she was interviewed for a story about pensioners who don’t own a home and have no other income than NZ Super. They struggle to have more than one meal a day and go to bed when it’s cold. They can’t get the accommodation supplement when they have more than $8,000 in the bank – money that is meant to supplement the pension and buy fresh fish, meat or fresh vegetables occasionally.

The Direct Deduction Policy brings many pensioners exactly into this situation. I am contacted regularly by people who have just a few dollars more than NZ Super after the deductions, and then they don’t even receive the WEP. But, of course, according to MSD and its Minister they would be “advantaged over New Zealanders who have never left the country”.

In the April newsletter Ginny Anderson writes: “There’s nothing quite like getting out there amongst people and to hear what is important to them.” Let her know what is important to you – and ask her respectively her office to not forward your emails and letters directly to MSD and Carmel Sepuloni, as always happened in the past under her predecessors. It is a ridiculous setting that we have a Minister for Seniors but only the MSD Minister can deal with pension issues. So don’t hang your hopes too high. Ginny Anderson said in the TV interview that she can only talk to her colleagues about the problems.

“The Winter Energy Payment is to help keeping your home warm and dry” – but only if you receive NZ Super

Anyway, in the April newsletter the increase of the NZ Super rates and the start of the Winter Energy Payment on 1 May were announced. It is the time of year when many pensioners explode with rage and risk heart attacks, as it reminds them of the unfairness of the entire system. Just ask Jim, you know who I mean. He always writes me how all the increases still lead to zero dollars of NZ Super and zero dollars of Winter Energy Payment for him.

But the Office of Seniors’ words remain warm: “New Zealand Superannuation and Veteran’s Pension payments are adjusted each year to reflect increases in the cost of living, inflation, and the average wage.” And: “The Winter Energy Payment is to help with the cost of keeping your home warm and dry, and other costs over winter.” Tell this to the pensioners who spend cold days in bed!

It is election year. Contact your local MPs, the PM, the Minister for Seniors and even Carmel Sepuloni – just to demonstrate that you and we are still alive and still find the treatment of people with employer/employee-funded overseas pensions appalling.

NZ Super payments stopped for people overwhelmed with the bureaucracy

It doesn’t stop here. In the past few months I have received several emails from people whose NZ Super payments were suspended because they didn’t get ahead with the applications for their overseas pensions, not through fault of their own but because of delays and complications with the overseas agencies.

Those who have posted application forms by snail mail and don’t have proof of it have their NZ Super payments stopped. One letter writer told me an 80-year old pensioner’s NZ Super who has no other income has been stopped, as obviously they have never applied for their overseas pension. Now the hurdles seem unsurmountable. If you apply but don’t receive an answer, always keep a record of what you are doing.

Unhelpful processes and incompetence at MSD

I have also made quite some experience with MSD myself, as the agent of a friend who has moved back to Germany. First the bank transfers of their portable NZ Super didn’t work, they had to open a new bank account. Then the money didn’t arrive in time. Whenever I called MSD, those on the phone didn’t know the answer. They always had to ask a colleague who had to ask another colleague or their superior. Some emails were never answered.

Some letters were only sent to me as the agent, e.g. the forms you have to complete to prove that you are alive and live overseas. While I would have been allowed to fill out the forms, I wasn’t allowed to sign off the forms and send them back to MSD, not even with the signature and stamp of a Justice of the Peace – because I could not be trusted, and that’s because I live in New Zealand and not overseas. The forms need to be signed off by a registry office overseas. So why does MSD not send the forms to my friend overseas? And why do they send them by snail mail at all when the international mail system (and even the domestic one) has slowed down dramatically since Covid, and when the signed form can be returned by email? Do they want to save the postage and use agents to forward their mail? What if I am on holiday when their snail mail with a deadline of four weeks arrives and I can’t send it to my friend overseas who would then need to make an appointment with the relevant authority? You guess right: the portable NZ Super payments would be suspended…

“Verifying” bank fees? Can you help and/or join?

A pensioner with an overseas pension has asked me if others have also been asked by MSD to “verify” the bank fees that apply for the transfer of foreign pensions to an NZ bank account. The receiving bank in New Zealand pays the overseas pension minus the bank fees, and MSD deducts the bank fees from the foreign pension under a reduction formula. This means that MSD covers the bank fees. (While in reality it means that you don’t have to pay MSD to steal your money!)

I have been told by the affected pensioner that they have never been required to “verify” the bank fees, and they can’t comply because neither the bank nor the overseas pension authority pay the bank fees and cannot access them. The pensioner has taken the issue to the Ombudsman, and it has been suggested that it would be helpful if others in the same position could advise whether or not they are required to “verify” bank fees. So if anybody can help her or join the action, please let me know and if yes, please give consent to me me forwarding the information to the affected pensioner.

Six months after SSAA hearing still no ruling

From the fighting front I have been informed that two pensioners who have been opposing the deduction of their overseas pensions at the Social Security Appeal Authority (SSAA) have had their hearing six months ago but they still have not heard back from the authority. And this after being told at the start of the hearing that a ruling could be expected at the end of the day! They have not even received the audio recording of the hearing which they are entitled to. They have sent requests to Chris Hipkins – the lovely guy from “the Hutt” - and Kiri Allan to force the release of the evidence, but they have gone silent, too.

I myself feel being stonewalled by organisations and people like the Retirement Commissioner, the receipt of my emails has not even been acknowledged, and the media remain mostly silent. It feels as if the media and every organisation has been muzzled by the Government. Regarding the media, I would not be surprised, as they have been bribed by the Government with more than NZ$ 50 million, and if you watch or read some stories you can only wonder if these are independent media or government cheerleaders. And I say this as a professional who has worked in journalism for more than 40 years. And don’t think it is much different in other countries. The mainstream media have been instrumentalised by governments, and since Covid it has only become worse. Kudos to those few who still speak their mind and dare to raise issues about the unfairness of the Direct Deduction Policy.

A tribute to Christopher Arnesen

Finally, I do not want to miss the opportunity to pay homage to an outstanding person who has been a pioneer in our cause and spreading the truth about New Zealand’s overseas pension rip-off for decades. Christopher Arnesen has died on 31 December, a month before his 81st birthday. He passed away shockingly fast only several weeks after being diagnosed with cancer. A celebration of his life took place in his award-winning coastal garden in the Christchurch suburb of New Brighton a few weeks later, it was a memorable gathering with an incredible bunch of family members and friends, and everyone having G/Ts in his honour.

Chris founded the first website on the pension theft (which was NZ Pension Abuse) and, together with a fellow activist, collected 7,000 signatures on a petition, long before this became much easier in the digital age. He forced the release of the internal government reviews where the Government admitted that overseas pensions had no resemblance to NZ Super and that, due to the Direct Deduction Policy, foreign governments refuse to negotiate Social Security Agreements with New Zealand. These reviews are linked on www.nzpensionprotest.com.  I have secured all content, just for the case Christopher’s website with its important documents disappears from the web.

In later years Christopher Arnesen and I collaborated very well and also occasionally met for things that were not pension-related. Just a few years ago he became the face of several videos on NZ Pension Protest’s YouTube channel where he explained how the legalised pension fraud worked and how impossible it was in this country to get justice. He was very generous, graceful, knowledgeable, had a great sense of humour and was a perfectionist in everything he did – his photography, his brilliant writing, his immaculate garden, the most incredible Christmas tree he put up every year, the movie collection, the cooking, just unforgettable.

I am sorry I have no better news this time, as so often. But we can’t give up the fight.

Keep warm, if you can,

Sissi