Employees prefer super over tax cuts

Australians would prefer a boost to their superannuation funds to another cut to income taxes, according to a new survey conducted for the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA).

The survey found that three out of four employees would trade another income tax cut for the removal of the tax on their superannuation contributions.

"Given the choice of how they would prefer government to give back some of the budget surplus, the clear majority opted for the reinforcement of retirement savings over tax cuts," ASFA chief executive Philippa Smith told the recent ASFA conference.

Smith says Australians are overwhelmingly in support of compulsory super, with 94 per cent of respondents backing Australia's system of compulsory superannuation payments.

But the survey also found Australians are still unrealistic when it comes to estimating how much they need to put into super.

Eighty per cent said $20,000 to $60,000 would be the minimum income they would require in today's dollars to maintain an adequate lifestyle in retirement. Yet the super guarantee will only provide around $19,000 a year for someone on average weekly earnings saving for 30 years.

"As government policies and savings levels currently stand, most people will not meet even their minimum expectations for retirement," Smith says.