There needs to be greater cooperation between superannuation funds and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) in dealing with instances of employer non-payment of superannuation guarantee (SG) contributions, according to new research.
The research has also confirmed that it could be many years before most super fund members see a result from the pursuit of the lost superannuation, with members taking up to two years to report perceived non-compliance, and the ATO taking between two and four years to actually take action.
The research, conducted by Tria Partners with contributions from the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, has pointed to SG non-compliance as being a $2.5 billion problem which needs to be addressed in a cooperative fashion.
And the reason why the research points to greater cooperation on the part of superannuation funds is that it has concluded that funds have a greater incentive to pursue SG non-compliance because recovered funds are remitted to them rather than the ATO.
What is more, the research has found that most (53 per cent) superannuation fund members look first to their super funds to pursue recovery of unpaid SG contributions compared to the 43 per cent who look to the ATO.
The research found that the industry in which SG non-compliance was most prevalent was construction, with other industries with elevated non-compliance including property services, mining, hospitality, and manufacturing.
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.