Retirees welcome age pension tightening
Industry super fund-commissioned research by AustralianSuper showed 78 per cent of workers and 88 per cent of retirees have backed the Federal Budget's tightening of the age pension assets test.
The groups approved of the Government's move to make it harder for wealthier pensioners to qualify and for poorer pensioners to get increased payments.
Three quarters of wage earners were holding back from putting extra money into their super due to constant tinkering, while 76 per cent of workers and 81 per cent of retirees want an independent body to look after super tax rather than the Government.
AustralianSuper's group executive, membership, Paul Schroder, said younger workers are recognising that they need to fund their own retirement instead of depending on government support.
"But before they're willing to invest more in their super, they want greater certainty and less government interference in the super system," he said.
The research also showed more than three quarters (76 per cent) of workers expect it to be more difficult to qualify for the pension when they retire compared to today, with Gen X feeling the pinch most (82 per cent), followed by Baby Boomers (74 per cent), and Gen Y workers (70 per cent).
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