Changes not super

Pitfalls of raising access age

A DEAKIN law expert says raising the superannuation access age beyond 60 is unlikely to provide any social benefits and could reduce the “golden years” of retirement for many people.

Tax and superannuation law and policy expert Dr Rami Hanegbi examined the positive and negatives of raising the superannuation access age and found raising the age would be a negative policy move.

Dr Hanegbi said raising the access age from 60 to 65 would dramatically reduce the “good years of retirement” for many residents.

“Laws that raise the access age to above 60, and have the effect of leaving many workers in a position where they have no viable choice but to continue to work, are a policy change likely to have significant consequences,” Dr Hanegbi said.

“For example, there are those who are constrained from working longer due to the physically demanding nature of their work such as bricklayers.”

Dr Hanegbi said the enactment of policies should ideally have a marked effect on people’s lives and should be based on solid evidence that shows such laws were, in the whole, welfare-enhancing.

“Such evidence appears to be lacking in the case of raising the superannuation access age,” he said.

“Compulsory superannuation has been a part of the retirement landscape in Australia for more than 20 years, with the availability of retirement funds having a marked affect not only on taxpayers but also their families and other members of the community.

“The consequences of making changes therefore needs to be carefully considered.”

Dr Hanegbi’s paper, Should the Superannuation Access Age Be Raised? was published in the journal Australian Tax Reform.