Yet another gentleman, in a string of several good-meaning individuals, writes about the adoption of a second-pillar pension (‘KiwiSaver scheme could solve pension problem – expert’, June 2) to augment the rather meagre State pension.

This excellent idea has been with us for a huge number of years. Indeed, it existed and was implemented a very long time ago when a large number of workers had agreements with employers to finance a supplementary second-pillar pension on reaching retirement age.

This idea was ‘murdered’ in 1979 when a new pensions policy, via an Act of Parliament, declared that these additional pensions will form part of the national insurance pension, thus rendering them completely superfluous. The investment made over the years was suddenly lost forever. And it remains so until this very day.

The pension suggested in the article mentioned will be nullified when a person attains pensionable age. It is simply taken into account when one receives a national insurance pension.

A KiwiSaver scheme in Malta is a dead duck, unless the infamous 1979 law is repealed.