There is no cost – it is a transfer of taxpayer-provided funding from one group to another. Breaking it down, the whole package of first steps to a UBI will cost around $3-3½ bn pa and that will all come from the means testing of NZS – it’s about ¼ of the cost of NZS currently. Evidence suggests this investment would give society a return on investment $2b more than it costs each and every year, thanks to the improved outcomes of these children.

By changing the indexation of NZ Super to the rate of inflation faced by retired people rather than wages, the headroom for other forms of UBI will grow.