Survey backs lifting Super Guarantee

The Federal Government may have miscued in the Federal Budget by accepting the Henry Tax Review recommendation not to lift the superannuation guarantee, with a new survey suggesting up to 69 per cent of working Australians believe it should be increased beyond the current 9 per cent.

The Mercer research, released today, suggests there is strong support among working Australians for a lift in the superannuation guarantee to as high as 12 per cent or 15 per cent.

The research was based on a poll conducted by the company in March within which 69 per cent of respondents said they either agreed or strongly agreed with increasing the minimum superannuation contribution from 9 per cent to 15 per cent.

The Mercer analysis pointed out that nearly half of all respondents who supported the increase believed it should be jointly funded by employees via pre-tax contributions and employers.

Commenting on the survey outcome, Mercer’s outsourcing business leader for Asia Pacific, David Anderson, said the company believed increasing superannuation savings via soft compulsion was an important step in ensuring all working Australians had an adequate retirement income.

“It seems most people, including the industry and government, accept the 9 per cent contribution rate is not enough to provide an adequate and sustainable retirement income, but the recommendation in the Henry Tax Review is to rely on the age pension to underpin retirement incomes, particularly for low to middle income earners,” he said.

“We think the superannuation guarantee system should provide more choice, flexibility and support than is being proposed in the Henry Tax Review,” Anderson said.