Dear Ministry of Social Development,

At a Benefits Review Committee hearing today in Orewa, Margaret Denton of your International Services Division made the statement that the Ministry had the right, under the legislation, to deduct from New Zealand Superannuation payments the amount of any pension coming from a UK Company plan that was a "contracting out" plan under the UK Supplementary Earnings Related Plan (SERPS), even though that plan was, by definition, a private plan and not a Government plan. She said that, as a matter of policy, the Ministry did not deduct these pensions from NZ Super.

Please tell me what section of the legislation would allow this deduction.

Yours faithfully,

Robert Latimer

Dear OIA_Requests (MSD),

Thank you for your reply.

There was no misunderstanding on our part. That was exactly what Ms. Denton said and we confirmed it by questioning her.

Her statement was incorrect (as perhaps were other statements made by her). As the Benefits Review Committee was looking to her for guidance, we think that her behavior is unacceptable.

Yours sincerely,

Robert Latimer