Greens hedge stance on lifetime caps

24 November 2015
| By Mike |
image
image image
expand image

The Australian Greens have signalled they may be less willing to support lifetime concessional contributions cap in the wake of receiving research from the independent Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO), suggesting that the benefits may not be as attractive as some might think.

According to the PBO research commissioned by the Greens, a $500,000 lifetime cap on non-concessional superannuation contributions would improve the budget bottom line by $2.5 billion over the next decade.

However, the same research suggests that a $600,000 lifetime cap would cost the budget $805 million by 2026 while an $800,000 cap would cost $3.3 billion over the decade with any cap on contributions above $540,000 costing the budget money over the long term.

Commenting on the PBO findings, Greens Treasury spokesman, Adam Bandt suggested that rather than pursuing lifetime caps, the Government might be better served targeting the generous super tax concessions enjoyed by wealthier Australians.

A range of superannuation organisations have supported the implementation of lifetime caps, with the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) advocating $1 million while Deloitte Access Economics has advocated $580,000.

The Government is expected to consider lifetime caps in the context of its broader review of tax settings.

Read more about:

AUTHOR

Recommended for you

sub-bgsidebar subscription

Never miss the latest developments in Super Review! Anytime, Anywhere!

Grant Banner

From my perspective, 40- 50% of people are likely going to be deeply unhappy about how long they actually live. ...

1 year 6 months ago
Kevin Gorman

Super director remuneration ...

1 year 6 months ago
Anthony Asher

No doubt true, but most of it is still because over 45’s have been upgrading their houses with 30 year mortgages. Money ...

1 year 6 months ago

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has hit back at critics of the Division 296 super tax changes, saying it shows commentators’ aversion to substantive tax reform....

3 days 3 hours ago

BlackRock has reduced its exposure to Australian and European equities in favour of emerging markets....

3 days 3 hours ago

Australia’s superannuation funds are on track to post another year of strong performance, with the median growth fund returning an estimated 9 per cent for the 2025 finan...

3 days 3 hours ago

TOP PERFORMING FUNDS

ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
92.15 3 y p.a(%)
3