Printed from https://fyi.org.nz/request/15658-2021-budget-bid-in-relation-to-the-cost-of-living-adjustment-for-government-scheme-pre-1985-retirees on November 22, 2024 01:39

2021 Budget bid in relation to the cost of living adjustment for Government Scheme pre 1985 retirees.

An annuitant made this Official Information request to The Treasury

The request was partially successful.

From: An annuitant

Dear The Treasury,
The 2021 Budget included an item to implement the following petition from the Government Superannuitants Association presented on 3 July 2018.
"That the House of Representatives pass legislation amending the Government Superannuation Fund Act 1956 to ensure all Government Superannuation Fund and National Provident Fund annuitants are treated consistently with regard to the annual cost of living adjustments being based on 100% indexation of the Consumers Price Index, as was the objective of the Government Superannuation Fund Amendment Bill 2008."
The Finance and Expenditure Committee considered this petition in May 2019 and recommended:
"We find that the indexation formula included in the Government Superannuation Fund Amendment Act 2009, intended to achieve 100 percent indexation against the Consumers Price Index, appears to be a different formula to that used in previous iterations. We recommend to the Government that it take note of this finding and consider options for addressing the resultant lesser payments received by contributors and beneficiaries of the fund."
Consequently a bit was made to implement this recommendation in the 2021 Budget.
Could you please provide a copy of your responses to the Minister of Finance in relation to this bid?

Yours faithfully,

An annuitant

Link to this

From: Bilgehan Berberoglu [TSY]
The Treasury

Attachment image001.png
8K Download

[UNCLASSIFIED]

 

Kia ora An annuitant,

 

Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982, which
was received on 3 June 2021, copied below.

 

The 2021 Budget included an item to implement the following petition from
the Government Superannuitants Association presented on 3 July 2018.

"That the House of Representatives pass legislation amending the
Government Superannuation Fund Act 1956 to ensure all Government
Superannuation Fund and National Provident Fund annuitants are treated
consistently with regard to the annual cost of living adjustments being
based on 100% indexation of the Consumers Price Index, as was the
objective of the Government Superannuation Fund Amendment Bill 2008."

The Finance and Expenditure Committee considered this petition in May 2019
and recommended:

"We find that the indexation formula included in the Government
Superannuation Fund Amendment Act 2009, intended to achieve 100 percent
indexation against the Consumers Price Index, appears to be a different
formula to that used in previous iterations.  We recommend to the
Government that it take note of this finding and consider options for
addressing the resultant lesser payments received by contributors and
beneficiaries of the fund."

Consequently a bit was made to implement this recommendation in the 2021
Budget.

Could you please provide a copy of your responses to the Minister of
Finance in relation to this bid?

 

A response will be provided in accordance with the Act (please see the
Office of the Ombudsman Website for more details -
 [1]http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/).

 

The Treasury may publish the response to your Official Information Act
(OIA) request.

 

When you are provided with a response to this request, you will be
informed about whether the response to your OIA request will be published.
If the Treasury does publish the response to your OIA request, personal
information, including your name and contact details, will be removed.
This publication process does not apply to extension letters or transfers.

 

The Treasury may need to contact you to clarify your request.  To
facilitate this, and to confirm your eligibility to make a request under
section 12 of the Official Information Act, would you please reply giving
your [personal email, phone number and] postal address.

 

The Treasury will not publish your personal contact details or use the
information for any reason other than processing your request.  The
personal information you provide is subject to the requirements of the
Privacy Act 1993 and the Official Information Act 1982.

 

Ngâ mihi,

Bilgehan

 

[2]cid:image003.png@01D60C35.4D782DD0

 

Bilgehan Berberoglu | Ministerial Advisor | Te Tai Ôhanga – The Treasury

Tel: N/A | Email/IM: [3][email address]

Visit us online at [4]https://treasury.govt.nz/ and follow us on
[5]Twitter, [6]LinkedIn and [7]Instagram

 

Link: [8]File-List
Link: [9]Edit-Time-Data
Link: [10]themeData
Link: [11]colorSchemeMapping

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From: An annuitant

Dear Bilgehan Berberoglu [TSY],
Thank you for your response.
All I am asking for is a copy of the report(s) you have. I have noticed that the advice from the Ombudsman is as follows:
The Ombudsman in the Guide "The OIA for Ministers and Agencies" states:
Page 4: “Key principles and purposes of the OIA”
Principle of availability
The principle of availability underpins the whole of the OIA. The OIA explicitly states that:
The question whether any official information is to be made available … shall be determined, except where this Act otherwise expressly requires, in accordance with the purposes of this Act and the principle that the information shall be made available unless there is good reason for withholding it (emphasis added).
This principle should always be kept in mind when an agency is considering how best to respond to a request for official information.
This principle is further expanded to include:
Page 11: “Eligibility to request official information”
What if a requester is not eligible?
Even if a person is not eligible to make a request for official information under the OIA (for example a person who is overseas and not a New Zealand citizen or resident), they can still ask an agency for the information they are seeking.
While the agency is not required to respond in accordance with the requirements of the OIA, it should still deal with the request for information in an administratively reasonable manner. If the person has any concerns about the response that they receive, then they can complain to the Ombudsman under the OA.
I would therefore wish you to further consider my request on the above basis. You can contact me via this website.

Yours sincerely,

An annuitant

Link to this

From: Bilgehan Berberoglu [TSY]
The Treasury

Attachment image001.png
8K Download

Attachment OIA 20210251 Release Document.pdf
261K Download View as HTML

Attachment OIA 20210251.pdf
124K Download View as HTML

[UNCLASSIFIED]

 

Dear Sir / Madam,

 

Please find attached the Treasury’s response to your OIA request
(20210251).

 

Ngâ mihi,

Bilgehan

 

[1]cid:image003.png@01D60C35.4D782DD0

 

Bilgehan Berberoglu | Ministerial Advisor | Te Tai Ôhanga – The Treasury

Tel: N/A | Email/IM: [2][email address]

Visit us online at [3]https://treasury.govt.nz/ and follow us on
[4]Twitter, [5]LinkedIn and [6]Instagram

 

Link: [7]File-List
Link: [8]Edit-Time-Data
Link: [9]themeData
Link: [10]colorSchemeMapping

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Things to do with this request

Anyone:
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