Retirement
Data shows increased super guarantee beneficial
Despite concerns that raising the superannuation guarantee from 9.5 per to 12 per cent will hurt lower-income earners, an incremental increase is likely to benefit those across the lower and middle-income brackets, according to analysis.
Data shows increased super guarantee beneficial
Despite concerns that raising the superannuation guarantee from 9.5 per to 12 per cent will hurt lower-income earners, an incremental increase is likely to benefit those across the lower and middle-income brackets, according to analysis.
According to QMV’s principal consultant, Jonathan Steffanoni, the superannuation increase is “sound economic policy” that is beneficial to Australians.
Despite this, he has cautioned that to ensure broader economic conditions remain stable, the labour market must remain adequately elastic to absorb associated costs.
“Broad assertions that the planned increase in SG will add to the cost of living pressures faced by many Australians don’t really stack up to closer scrutiny. This may simply be due to misunderstanding of the complexity and nuance in the way the SG and labour markets function,” said Mr Steffanoni.
Rather than lowering the current day wages of low-income earners, QMV has said that it will help them to retire as wages and superannuation are separate considerations.
“Rather than adding to cost of living pressures by reducing take-home salary, an increase in SG for the 23 per cent of Australian workers on lower salaries set by modern awards will increase the retirement savings of those who are set to benefit most, as wages aren’t set by the market and provide for SG in addition to salary,” said Mr Steffanoni.
Who will be negatively affected?
While 63 per cent of people will be better off under an increase to the superannuation guarantee, employees with total remuneration packages instead of separate wages and super packages could be negatively affected by changes in superannuation guarantees, according to QMV.
However, according to Mr Steffanoni, a vast majority of those workers covered by a collective agreement would be unlikely to see a direct reduction to their take-home income.
He conceded that “the salary of employees on individual or collective agreements often falls below market value, particularly where employees remain in the same role or with the same employer for a longer period”.
“There may be pay increases, but these typically don’t keep pace with the market,” he explained.
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