Print
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) has welcomed the push from the Government’s reaffirmed commitment to increasing the superannuation guarantee (SG) to 12%, which was announced in the Federal Budget earlier this week, and said it was
an important step towards providing adequate retirement savings, particularly for women and younger Australians.
ASFA also supported the package of additional measures aimed at boosting women’s retirement savings and increasing flexibility for retirees to make contributions and access income streams which included:
Abolishing the $450 a month earnings threshold for the payment of the SG;
The removal of the work test (for those aged 67 to 74) for superannuation contributions;
9%
9.25%
9.5%
10%
10.5%
11%
11.5%
12%
This delay has had a knock-on-effect. According to 2017-18 data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the median super balance for people approaching retirement (aged 55-64) was $118,600 for women and $183,000 for men.
That falls short of the ASFA retirement standard, which sets out how much people should have in super for a comfortable retirement.
Raising the SG is intended to help close that gap, and make sure Australians are able to fund a comfortable retirement.
Short term income vs long term benefits
When it comes to superannuation, the conversation tends to hinge on one key question – what are we willing to sacrifice in the short term for future benefits?