Is Frydenberg being equivocal on 12% SG?
Amid continuing debate among Federal Government back-benchers about the future of the superannuation guarantee, the Federal Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, has delivered an equivocal answer on the Government’s intentions with respect to increasing the SG to 12%.
Answering questions during a doorstop interview in Queensland, Frydenberg was asked whether the Government would guarantee it would maintain the legislated rise in the SG to 12%.
He replied: “We said we haven’t any plans to change those legislated increases”.
The Treasurer’s answer comes against the background of three Coalition Senators having questioned the need for the current superannuation regime, with the most recent critic being recently-elected Queensland Senator, Gerard Rennick, who described superannuation as a ‘cancer’ and urged that it be made voluntary.
His comments align with similar sentiments previously expressed by NSW Liberal Senator and former Financial Services Council (FSC) policy director, Andrew Bragg, and Liberal Senator and former Insitute of Public Affairs staffer, James Paterson, who has backed freezing the SG at 10%.
The comments from the backbenchers come at the same time as the future of superannuation has been largely opened up for debate via the Government’s Retirement Income Review.
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