A recent poll has revealed a vast majority of Australians are in favour of compulsory superannuation and increasing the superannuation guarantee (SG) to 12 per cent.
The poll, conducted for the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), found over 90 per cent of the 1000 Australians surveyed were supportive of the current compulsory superannuation system.
The survey also revealed around 80 per cent of respondents were in favour of increasing compulsory superannuation contributions to 12 per cent.
ASFA chief executive Martin Fahy said: “The Australian compulsory superannuation system is one of the great successes of public policy in Australia and it receives strong support from the Australian community.”
The results of the study indicated baby boomers (54 to 73 years old) were more supportive of the current compulsory superannuation system than other age groups surveyed at 91.8 per cent, closely followed by generation X (39 to 53 years old – 90.3 per cent) and generation Y (38 years old and below – 88.5 per cent).
The survey also revealed generation X was the group most likely to be supportive of an increase in contributions (84.7 per cent), followed by pre-boomers (74 years and above – 81.7 per cent) and baby boomers (80.9 per cent).
A breakdown of the data across superannuation fund types revealed SMSF members showed the lowest levels of support for a rise in the SG, with ASFA research director Ross Clare attributing the sentiment to the membership composition of these funds.
In addition, the research indicated a significant majority of those surveyed did not think the age pension would be sufficient for their retirement needs.
Around 80 per cent indicated the ASFA comfortable standard budget ($43,000 a year for a single person and $61,000 combined for a couple) was the minimum they would want to be able to spend in retirement, and two-thirds of the SMSF members surveyed said they wanted to be able to spend more than the ASFA standard.
“Australians deserve to enjoy their retirement. To achieve that they will need compulsory superannuation so they have the capacity to spend well above what the age pension provides for retirees,” Fahy said.
ASFA called for a rise in the SG from the current level to 12 per cent in March this year.
