Hockey dodges super policy but slams MySuper

Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey has yet to commit to the Opposition’s stance on an increase in the superannuation guarantee (SG) from 9 to 12 per cent, and has also taken aim at Jeremy Cooper’s MySuper proposal.

“I’ll warn you up front – do not expect me to deliver a superannuation policy today,” Hockey said at the Financial Services Council (FSC) conference on Thursday.

It was impossible to deliver a response to the proposed increase in the SG without being privy to the full modelling and costing from the Henry Tax Review in order to understand exactly how the Government intended to pay for the MySuper changes, Hockey said.

He was also critical of MySuper, saying he supported FSC chief executive John Brogden’s assertion that MySuper was overtly paternalistic and would entrench disengagement and disinterest.

The fact that there were already similar cheap, low-cost and low-commission products in the market provided from companies such as BT and AMP made the MySuper proposal redundant, he said.

He agreed that the nation needed to increase its retirement savings but insisted there must be a better solution, such as a more favourable tax structure for super funds.

Hockey agreed the SuperStream proposal was worthy of further consideration provided it was implemented in consultation with the industry. If elected, the Opposition would look at all 177 recommendations from the Cooper Review and formulate a full response in due course, he said.

Hockey said the Coalition did not support a blanket ban on commissions, adding that some people could not afford to pay for up front advice – although he did not agree with hidden commissions with no sunset clause or trailing commissions with no opt-out clause.

The Coalition would also consider a proposal to make the cost of financial advice tax deductible, he said.