Super reforms not enough - survey
By Mike Taylor
THE superannuation industry has welcomed changes to super included in the Federal Budget, but does not believe the Government has gone far enough.
That is the bottom-line finding of a survey conducted by MoneyManagement sister publication Super Review this month aimed at gaining the views of workers in the superannuation industry on the changes included in the Budget, particularly the abolition of the superannuation surcharge.
The results of the snap poll of 150 superannuation industry professionals showed that respondents overwhelmingly believed the Government had not gone far enough, with 71.2 per cent indicating they believed further changes were needed.
However, most respondents (78.4 per cent) said they believed the abolition of the surcharge did represent a breakthrough in terms of reform.
What should concern the Government, however, is the fact that the industry still strongly believes the tax regime applying to super needs to be addressed. An overwhelming 94.4 per cent of respondents said the Government should reduce the taxes applying to super.
Also of concern is the view that the industry is not really ready for the implementation of choice from July 1. A substantial 68.5 per cent of respondents said they did not believe the industry was sufficiently prepared for choice of fund.
As to who would be the winners and losers in the new choice regime, most respondents seemed to think advertising agencies would be major winners, along with advisers.
Interestingly, respondents believed that industry funds and individual fund members would gain more from the new choice of fund regime than master trusts.
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