Parliamentary Annuities Determination (No 2) 2020

2020/297

Coat of Arms of New Zealand

Parliamentary Annuities Determination (No 2) 2020

Pursuant to section 43 of the Members of Parliament (Remuneration and Services) Act 2013 and to the Remuneration Authority Act 1977, the Remuneration Authority makes the following determination (to which is appended an explanatory memorandum).

Determination

1 Title

This determination is the Parliamentary Annuities Determination (No 2) 2020.

2 Commencement

This determination comes into force on 1 January 2021.

3 Expiry

This determination expires on 31 December 2021.

4 Annuity for former Prime Minister

The annuity payable under section 43(1)(a) of the Members of Parliament (Remuneration and Services) Act 2013 to a person who has held the office of Prime Minister for not less than 2 years (whether for a continuous period or for periods totalling 2 years) is payable at the yearly rate of the lesser of the following:

(a)

$10,900 for each complete year of the total period for which the person held the office:

(b)

$54,500 (annual maximum annuity payable).

5 Revocation

The Parliamentary Annuities Determination 2020 (LI 2020/3) is revoked.

Dated at Wellington this 1st day of December 2020.

Fran Wilde,
Chairperson.

Geoff Summers,
Member.

Len Cook,
Member.

Explanatory memorandum

This memorandum is not part of the determination, but is intended to indicate its general effect.

This determination, which comes into force on 1 January 2021, sets the annuity payable to a person who has held office of Prime Minister (a former Prime Minister) for not less than 2 years (whether for a continuous period or for periods totalling 2 years). It replaces the Parliamentary Annuities Determination 2020, which expires on 31 December 2020.

In making this determination and after consulting with those affected, the Remuneration Authority took into account the mandatory criteria listed in section 18 of the Remuneration Authority Act 1977 (the Act). In addition, it took into account section 18A of the Act, which requires the Authority to consider prevailing adverse economic conditions. This is an important criterion at this time, given the negative impact that COVID-19 is having on the New Zealand economy and society.

Accordingly, this determination maintains the annuity for former Prime Ministers at the 2020 level, which is $10,900 per annum up to a maximum annuity payable of $54,500.

Under section 43(1)(b) of the Members of Parliament (Remuneration and Services) Act 2013, the surviving spouse or partner of a former Prime Minister must be paid an annuity at half that yearly rate.

This determination expires on 31 December 2021.

Issued under the authority of the Legislation Act 2012.

Date of notification in Gazette: 3 December 2020.