A nationwide survey has found that 75% of surveyed Australians support increasing the superannuation guarantee (SG) to 12% with only 12% of respondents in favour of leaving the SG rate unchanged at 9.5%, according to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA).
At the same time, 75% of respondents said they would struggle to live on the Age Pension alone while 30% indicated that they could have a comfortable lifestyle in retirement while spending less than $50,000 a year.
By lifting the SG to 12% half of all Australian retirees would be self-funded by 2050, countering the pressure of an ageing population on generations of future taxpayers, according to ASFA’s predictions.
Currently the Age Pension was $24,551 a year for a single and $37,000 a year for a couple, it said.
ASFA’s chief executive, Martin Fahy, said: “Without question, Australians value their superannuation and they clearly support measures aimed at helping them to build the nest egg necessary to fund a dignified retirement in this country.
“Australia’s superannuation system enables Australians to retire with dignity. With the legislated increase of the superannuation guarantee to 12%, and as the superannuation system matures, we expect to see a greater proportion of retirees relying less on the Age Pension and more on their superannuation.”
