'Better Super' initiatives may now be unsustainable

The so-called 'Better Super' initiatives introduced by the former Howard Government may no longer be economically sustainable, according to the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST).

AIST chief executive Fiona Reynolds told the Conference of Major Superannuation Funds on the Gold Coast that the generous arrangements introduced by the Howard Government may need to be reviewed in light of the global financial crisis.

Her call came at the same time as she revealed that her organisation believed the Federal Government should increase the age pension to $16,000 a year in the May Federal Budget on the basis that while many self-funded retirees had been hit hard by the current global financial crisis, pensioners were also doing it tough.

She said the push for the increase in the age pension had been part of a joint submission to the Henry Tax Review by the AIST and the Industry Super Network, which had also called for the pension to be better targeted to those most in need.

"The means testing of the age pension is too generous and probably unsustainable for the Government," Reynolds said.

The AIST submission also called for a better deal on superannuation for low to middle income earners, better coverage for women and the self-employed, and an increase in the Superannuation Guarantee from the existing 9 per cent to 12 per cent.