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A key sector of the superannuation funds industry has rejected a call by a group of economists for a temporary cut to the superannuation guarantee rate from its current 9 per cent to just 6 per cent.
The chief executive of the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees, Fiona Reynolds, claimed such a cut was likely to do more harm than good by reducing the pool of national savings and lowering superannuation balances.
“At a time when the average superannuation balance has been hit hard by falling markets and super funds have been called upon to invest in infrastructure and sustainability initiatives, calls for a reduction in the super guarantee are short-sighted and retrograde,” she said.
Reynolds said Australia’s compulsory superannuation system was the envy of the world and the pool of national savings it had generated was one of the reasons the nation was able to weather the global financial crisis better than most.
