POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
Call to rope self-employed into super
The self-employed should be compelled to become part of the super guarantee regime.
That is the assessment of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) which has used a supplementary submission to the Tax White Paper process to argue for a broadening of the coverage of superannuation.
While reinforcing the fact that the tax concessionality of superannuation should top out on account balances of $2.5 million, the ASFA supplementary submission also makes clear the need to rope in the self-employed.
"There is a strong policy case to extend the compulsory superannuation regime to include some or all of the self-employed," the submission said.
"Nearly ten per cent of the labour force is self-employed. Only a relatively small number of the self-employed have business assets sufficient to support a comfortable standard of living in retirement," it said.
"While tax concessions have led to some self-employed saving for retirement through superannuation, average balances and coverage have remained relatively low."
The submission argued that while accountant balances were growing as the superannuation system matured, many people will still retire with inadequate superannuation savings to fund the lifestyle they wanted in retirement.
"There should be no further delay to the scheduled increases in the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) to eventually reach 12 per cent of wages, and desirably the timetable should be condensed."
It said women in particular benefited from the compulsory superannuation system and that the Low Income Superannuation Contribution (LISC) should be retained after 2017 as it assisted low-income earners to achieve adequacy of retirement incomes.
Recommended for you
The proposed reforms have been described as a key step towards delivering better products and retirement experiences for members, with many noting financial advice remains the “urgent missing piece” of the puzzle.
Jim Chalmers has defended changes to the Future Fund’s mandate, referring to himself as a “big supporter” of the sovereign wealth fund, amid fierce opposition from the Coalition, which has pledged to reverse any changes if it wins next year’s election.
In a new review of the country’s largest fund, a research house says it’s well placed to deliver attractive returns despite challenges.
Chant West analysis suggests super could be well placed to deliver a double-digit result by the end of the calendar year.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
Spire Oaktree Opportunities XI Second Close
61.07 3 y p.a(%)
2
Spire Oaktree Opportunities XI First Close USD
59.21 3 y p.a(%)
3
DomaCom Lot 21 Chellaston Road Munno Para West SA 5115 Australia
31.56 3 y p.a(%)
4
Fidante Credit Suisse Global Private Equity
31.06 3 y p.a(%)
5
DomaCom 4/27 Crombie Avenue Bundall QLD 4217 Australia
26.81 3 y p.a(%)
