About Us

The Retirement Commission is responsible for some of the world's most innovative retirement planning projects - designed to help New Zealanders get their finances sorted so that they can retire with an income that meets their lifestyle expectations.

Our mission is to help New Zealanders prepare financially for the retirement lifestyle they desire, through education, information and promotion.

The Retirement Commissioner is Diana Crossan. Diana was appointed in February 2003.

The Retirement Commission was established in 1995 with the appointment of the first Retirement Commissioner, Colin Blair. Called The Office of the Retirement Commissioner, much of the focus in the early years was on establishing an understanding of public concerns and knowledge of retirement income issues.

Since 1996 the Commission has been running a public education programme designed to help New Zealanders understand retirement income policies and the benefits of supplementing New Zealand Superannuation (the state pension) with their own savings.

After five years, the Commission had established itself as an independent and impartial source of information, and had successfully convinced New Zealanders of the need to save for retirement.

In 2000 and 2001, with the end of private sector funding and with Government intentions to reduce the Commission's funding significantly, the Commission faced reductions in its resources.

The Commission therefore developed a new programme that would continue to encourage New Zealanders to take action on preparing for retirement, but would also attract hard-to-reach groups that had not previously been hooked by the 'save for retirement' message. It also had to attract funding.

The new programme needed to help people make better decisions about budgeting, saving, borrowing and investing. It needed to help them teach their children better money management skills. Ultimately, the programme needed to give New Zealanders the information to improve their lifetime financial management skills so that they would be better prepared for retirement.

The Commission wanted a fresh approach and a smart way of using a limited budget and so Sorted was born.

The Sorted public education programme is now an integral part of The Commission's work and a cost-effective and successful tool for all New Zealanders. The Commission is still continuing to add to Sorted and with the creation of this site, has strengthened its research functions.

The Commission gained a new function with the passing of the Retirement Villages Act in 2003. This role includes monitoring the effects of the Act, promoting education and publishing information, approving members of a disputes panel, and consulting and making recommendations on a Code of Practice to cover all retirement villages.