90 per cent of working Australians back SG increase

Nine out of 10 of working Australians support the Government's proposal to increase the superannuation guarantee (SG) to 12 per cent, according to a national poll from the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA).

The survey, which was conducted by brandmanagement and commissioned by ASFA, found there was strong support across a wide range of age and salary demographics for increasing the SG to 12 per cent.

Support was higher than average among females, low to middle-income earners and younger people — with almost universal support from those aged between 25 and 29.

ASFA chief executive officer Pauline Vamos said this proved that the Australian public understood and wanted the benefits that an increased SG rate would bring.

“Being self-sufficient in retirement and able to pursue an active lifestyle is not only important for retirees, but also for Australia’s consumer-based economy.

“The increase in the SG and the introduction of the rebate of contributions tax for low-income earners will have substantial and favourable impacts for all Australian workers with super."

According to ASFA, increasing the SG to 12 per cent for 40 year olds on a salary of $60,000 per year with a super balance of $55,000 will result in an extra $60,000 in retirement.

Vamos said there was a mistaken belief that increasing the SG would be a huge cost on the Government, which would be largely funded by the Resource Super Profits Tax (RSPT).

“Our research shows that the cost to the Budget of the phased increase is $240 million in 2013-14. This is less than 3 per cent of the projected $9 billion revenue from the RSPT,” she said.

Instead, Vamos said the long-term cost to the Government would be offset by the savings in pensions and other benefits.