Mike's Minute: The superannuation debate has become boring

It's hard to believe that superannuation is still a “thing”. The OECD report told us we need to bump the age. Nicola Willis told us Friday we have to do something. The Prime Minister then goes on Newstalk ZB and tells us they will campaign, again, on bumping up the age. We should not be here. In 1982 when I started work at the age of 16 it was very clearly in my mind that I had to sort my future financially, given the debate at the time was that superannuation is not affordable, and the state could not always be relied upon to be there for you.   So if it was a debate in 1982, why is it still a debate in 2026, having achieved or solved nothing? The answer of course is because it has been political dynamite. No party really wants to risk losing votes over what has been seen as an entitlement. So first port of call, is it an entitlement or not? If it is, bump the age. There is no question that we live and work longer, therefore retirement is not what it was and it will continue to evolve. Or, my preference, make it a benefit. We see Labour's free doctor's policy as the money wasting joke it is. Why does a person like me on a good salary need a free doctor? I don’t. Stop wasting money. So why not apply the same to retirement? Do you need it? If yes, you get some assistance. If no, then save the dollars for someone else. But some still argue it’s the reward for a life's work. Is it? The reward for a life's work is money in the bank, some travel and no alarm. The country doesn’t owe me anything. Equally, that farcical, old line about you having paid your taxes was never true. The taxes you paid have been spent every year. Almost every year we spend more than we earn. There are no savings, no surplus. Your taxes paid for healthcare and Government departments and roads and beneficiaries. Like so many of life's issues, when you complicate them and fiddle with them they remain unsolved. Kicking it down the road isn't a skill. It’s a lack of backbone. At some point someone has to be honest enough to pull the pin. It's not 1968 and 65 years-old isn't old. This thing has been debated so long now it's become boring. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.