A nationwide survey has found that 75% of surveyed Australians support increasing the superannuation guarantee (SG) to 12% with only 12% of respondents in favour of leaving the SG rate unchanged at 9.5%, according to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA).
At the same time, 75% of respondents said they would struggle to live on the Age Pension alone while 30% indicated that they could have a comfortable lifestyle in retirement while spending less than $50,000 a year.
By lifting the SG to 12% half of all Australian retirees would be self-funded by 2050, countering the pressure of an ageing population on generations of future taxpayers, according to ASFA’s predictions.
Currently the Age Pension was $24,551 a year for a single and $37,000 a year for a couple, it said.
ASFA’s chief executive, Martin Fahy, said: “Without question, Australians value their superannuation and they clearly support measures aimed at helping them to build the nest egg necessary to fund a dignified retirement in this country.
“Australia’s superannuation system enables Australians to retire with dignity. With the legislated increase of the superannuation guarantee to 12%, and as the superannuation system matures, we expect to see a greater proportion of retirees relying less on the Age Pension and more on their superannuation.”
Future Group is set to take on nearly $1 billion in funds under management (FUM) and welcome more than 100,000 new members following two significant successor fund transfers.
Insignia’s Master Trust business suffered a 1.9 per cent dip in FUA in the third quarter, amid total net outflows of $1.8 billion.
While the Liberal senator has accused super funds of locking everyday Australians out of the housing market, industry advocates say the Coalition’s policy would only push home ownership further out of reach.
Australia’s largest superannuation fund has confirmed all members who had funds stolen during the recent cyber fraud crime have been reimbursed.