Hands off super, if you please

CHANGES to superannuation rules and Federal Budgets go hand-in-hand, but all the super industry wants this year is for Treasurer Scott Morrison to keep his hands off.

A moneysaverHQ analysis has found that we haven’t had a Budget free of super changes since 2008.

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia is among those fed up with uncertainty around contribution limits and slowrising compulsory employer Superannuation Guarantee payments.

“In the Federal Budget the Government has a unique opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to retirees by simply leaving the system alone,” said ASFA CEO Martin Fahy. “Constant tinkering with the system ultimately undermines community confidence at a time when we want to encourage more people to be self-funded in retirement,” Dr Fahy said.

“Australians deserve certainty when making investment decisions that their savings will not be eroded by constant shifts in … policy.”

Super savers are still working through previous Budget changes, and some don’t even start until July 1 this year – such as the new bring forward rule that allows unused taxdeductible contribution caps to be rolled over for five years.

AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver said there had been some suggestions that the Budget might further delay plans to increase compulsory employer super payments to 12 per cent.