The Federal Government has sought to reassure superannuation funds that it will not be seeking to undermine certainty in the superannuation system.
Addressing the Conference of Major Superannuation Funds (CMSF) in Brisbane on Friday, the Minister for Financial Services, Bill Shorten, said the Government recognised "the need to provide superannuation policy certainty".
At the same time, Shorten indicated the Government's recognition of the need to depoliticise superannuation.
Amid continuing speculation that the Government will alter the superannuation tax settings for upper income earners, Shorten sought to distinguish the different needs of lower and middle income earners and the purpose of superannuation.
"The Gillard-Swan Labor Government will never lose sight of the low-paid, we'll always support and strengthen the safety net of the aged-pension," he said. "But superannuation was never designed as a welfare tool for low income earners — that is appropriately the preserve of the aged pension, and this Labor Government has significantly improved our pension system.
"Superannuation was designed to reward and support the Australian middle-class, those on multiples of average earnings, to save for a comfortable, secure and financially adequate retirement," Shorten said. "We want a system which rewards a lifetime of hard work, and ideally ensures that Australian workers have something approaching 70 per cent replacement rate of their working income. People need to have sufficient savings to retire comfortably — adequately."
He said the Government recognised the need to provide superannuation policy certainty.
"We recognise that community confidence in superannuation is important — not just for the industry or the markets — but for those mums and dads, and sons and daughters, whose hard working wages are compulsorily deferred to provide for their retirement security," Shorten said.
"They will need to have sufficient savings to retire comfortably (adequacy). And Australians want the process of superannuation policy-making to be depoliticised because community confidence in the superannuation system is important."
