Self-employed under-superannuated
Many self-employed Australians remain unprepared for retirement with little or no superannuation or other appropriate savings, according to new research released by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia(ASFA).
According to the chief executive of ASFA, Pauline Vamos, the research has revealed a significant gap in the retirement savings of the self-employed when compared to wage and salary earners in Australia.
The ASFA data reveals that while the self-employed sector makes up over 10 per cent of the paid labour force, it has relatively low levels of superannuation, with 28 per cent of the sector having no superannuation while a further 53 per cent have super balances of less than $40,000.
Vamos said despite taxation incentives aimed at boosting superannuation contributions, only around one in four self-employed people currently make a tax-deductible superannuation contribution in any given year.
She said that given the tax and other advantages associated with such contributions, ASFA’s research suggested that more self-employed Australians should consider making such contributions.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
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