The pre-funding proposal is largely an accounting exercise with no direct economic impact on the retirement income problem. As now spelled out, it is essentially a tax-smoothing scheme. At their peak, capital withdrawals would cover no more than 14 percent of the annual cost of New Zealand Superannuation (NZS). Because the level and conditions of access to NZS remain unchanged, the long-term burden NZS imposes on the government's finances and the economy's capability to produce the goods and services needed by people in retirement remain unaltered.