The man who set up the Superfund in 2001 is very happy the Government is set to renew payments into that today.

The Government announced yesterday a plan to put money in the fund regularly, to the tune of $500 million in the current fiscal year.

Former Labour finance minister Sir Michael Cullen set up the fund and laments the missed opportunity in the last nine years of a national government when they cut payments.

Sir Michael said the fund should be about $55 billion by now, instead it sits at about $35 billion.

"It's good to see the new government building up those contributions back again...to get back to the levels which are required in the medium term."

He said we can't recover all of the lost ground but we can begin to make in roads.

"That will of considerable use 20, 30 years down the track when the pressure of a growing aging population will become much more noticeable in New Zealand Budgets."