Reducing the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) exemption for super funds will hit the retirement savings of all fund members, the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) believes.
AIST said the Government needed to re-focus super tax reform on improving fairness in the system and setting system objectives.
AIST chief executive, Tom Garcia, said cutting the CGT discount for super funds would undermine investor confidence in the compulsory super system and distort investment markets.
"The reason CGT discounts apply in superannuation in that they provide an incentive for long-term saving and any reduction to the current discount would dilute this," Garcia said.
"Just about every week brings a different proposal for super which must be causing great uncertainty for working Australians saving for their retirement.
"Legislating objectives for super will put an end to ad hoc policy tinkering and provide a robust framework with which to assess future policy proposals."
In its pre-election policy document, the FSC highlighted 15 priority reforms, with superannuation featuring prominently, urging both major parties to avoid changing super taxes without a comprehensive tax review.
The Grattan Institute has labelled the Australian super system as “too complicated” and has proposed a three-pronged reform strategy to simplify superannuation in retirement.
Super funds delivered a strong 2024 result, with the median growth fund returning 11.4 per cent, driven by strong international sharemarket performance, new data has shown.
Australian Ethical has seen FUM growth of 27 per cent in the financial year to date.