The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) has welcomed the retention of the full Superannuation Guarantee (SG) charge.
A last minute amendment to the Treasury Legislation Amendment (Repeal Day 2015) Bill on Wednesday saw the charge retained, following a debate in Parliament.
The charge is a penalty paid by employers who fail to make their SG contributions on time.
AIST chief executive, Tom Garcia, said the SG charge was necessary to protect employees.
"Reducing the penalty also reduces the incentive for employers to pay mandatory super on time," Garcia said.
If the changes went ahead the penalty would have only been calculated on ordinary time earnings and interest would only be payable from the SG due date, significantly reducing the cost to non-compliant employers.
"The SG charge is necessary to protect employees from employer non-compliance which we know is a particular problem in certain industries. Everyone is entitled to receive their superannuation contributions on time," he said.
The research house has offered a silver lining after super fund returns saw the end of a five-month streak last month.
A survey of almost 6,000 fund members has identified weakening retirement confidence, particularly among those under 55 years of age, signalling an opportunity for super funds to better engage with members on their retirement journey.
The funds have confirmed the signing of a successor fund transfer deed, moving closer to creating a new $29 billion entity.
A number of measures, including super on Paid Parental Leave, funding to recover unpaid super, and frameworks to encourage investment in the energy transition, have been welcomed by the superannuation industry.
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