SG rise delay will fail to meet super goals: ASFA
Another super body has hit out against the Federal Government's plan to push back the increase in the superannuation guarantee (SG) to 12 per cent.
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) said the current rate of 9.5 per cent will not be enough to give retirees financial security, and so the Government should revert to the original timetable of phased increases.
"Retirement planning is a long-term game, but when the system is subject to short-term changes, it undermines the community's confidence in superannuation," ASFA CEO Pauline Vamos said.
ASFA recently set out goals for the super system including limiting age pension and tax costs on super to less than six per cent of GDP.
"Under the revised timetable of SG increases, the system will not be on-track to meet these objectives. This means many people will not have enough superannuation to provide for the lifestyle they want in retirement, and the savings to government on Age Pension-related expenses may not be as great as initially projected," Vamos said.
However, unlike the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST), ASFA said it was happy with the Government's decision to keep the low income superannuation contribution (LISC) until 2017.
Vamos said keeping the LISC for an extra two years will aid Australia's lowest-paid workers.
AIST said it was "very disappointed" the LISC will be scrapped after 2017.
AUTHOR
Malavika Santhebennur
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