Election result proof of Aussie super ‘angst’

In a statement, chief executive Olivia Long said the superannuation changes proposed in the federal budget have caused “public angst”.

“What the electorate has rightly discerned is that superannuation is increasingly being seen by all the political parties as a cash cow that can be milked for fiscal reasons,” she said.

“However, what we have seen in the election is that many of the people have said ‘enough is enough’, and that there will be an electoral cost if you continue to change the policy settings by which people plan their retirement income strategies.”

Ms Long said politicians need to remember that the reason compulsory super was established was to give people the opportunity to be self-sufficient in retirement.

“In the SMSF space, in particular, trustees assume the responsibility to be financially independent in retirement, and all they ask of their elected representatives is to determine the policy settings and then leave the system alone,” she said.

“Right now it is a difficult time for trustees, with volatile investment markets around the globe the order of the day and interest rates at historic lows.

“To compound these market-related issues they have to continually second-guess what the government of the day will do with superannuation policy, especially as it relates to its tax treatment. But after last Saturday, it seems doing so might come at a high political cost.”