Early release extension to continue to erode super
Low income earners and young people’s superannuation continues to be eroded by the early release hardship scheme, the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) said in response to the Government’s announcement that the scheme would extend to 31 December.
ASFA said super continued to do the heavy lifting in difficult times and this reinforced the need to increase the super guarantee to 12% to “shield” Australia’s retirement savings from shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
ASFA chief executive, Martin Fahy, said: “These are anxious times and we face challenging economic headwinds. As the Treasurer outlined today, Australia remains in a relatively manageable position in terms of debt, compared with our OECD peers.
“If low income earners and young people’s superannuation continues to be eroded by the early release stimulus scheme, we risk losing sight of superannuation’s intended purpose, which is to provide adequate income for Australians in retirement.”
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