The Federal Government has sent yet another signal that it intends developing policy and an objective for superannuation which will ensure it is the primary source of retirement income for most people, with only limited numbers gaining access to the full Age Pension.
The Treasurer, Scott Morrison gave another hint to the Government’s agenda when he pointed to an objective for superannuation based on reducing dependence on the Age Pension.
“So, I think we have to go back to basics when it comes to superannuation. Over the last 25 years, it has come to mean many things to many people but its principle role is to ensure that over the course of your working life, you are putting money away to ensure that when you are retired, you can be as independent as possible,” he said. “Now, that means that over time there might be people more on a part pension than a full pension. There might be some people who aren’t on a pension at all and it is our objective to try and support them to be independent.”
The Treasurer also indicated that the Government was open to discussion of issues, such as lifetime contribution caps and other means of assisting people with broken work patterns, such as women and carers.
“One of the things that has happened over the last 25 years, is I think we have become more aware of how things change over a person’s working life, people’s working patterns are far more flexible today and we need to have a superannuation system that, I think, reflects those changes in people’s lives,” Morrison said.
“There are many different pathways to get to where we want them to get to, which is independence in retirement, but the system at the moment can be quite rigid,” he said.
