The Government could choose to pay back its debt instead of contributing to the Fund. However, we expect the Fund to earn more in investment returns than the Government would save in borrowing costs. 

Wholesale debt securities issued by the Crown are called Treasury Bills; the return on Treasury Bills provides a measure of the cost of Government debt-servicing. Comparing the Fund's returns with the performance of NZ 90-day Treasury Bill return is a measure of whether borrowing to contribute to the Fund has been worthwhile for the Crown.

We expect the NZ Super Fund to earn 3.8% p.a. more from investment returns than the Government would save in debt servicing over a 20-year moving average timeframe. 

Fund return compared to government borrowing cost

This chart shows how the Fund performed relative to the Treasury Bill return over a 20-year timeframe.

• The bars show the percentage the Fund earned each year compared to the return on Treasury Bills.
• The line shows the cumulative amount the Fund earned compared to the Treasury Bill return.

The figures on this page are unaudited. See our Annual Reports for audited figures.

Annual Report