Maintain superannuation cap promise, says AIST

On the eve of the first meeting of its Superannuation Roundtable, the Federal Government has been urged to hold firm on its proposal to introduce its new concessional contributions cap regime for over 50s from July this year.

Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) chief executive Fiona Reynolds said the proposals to limit the over 50s' annual $50,000 cap to those with super balances of $500,000 or under were fair and would not adversely affect the majority of Australians. 

"These measures are about targeting the voluntary super tax concessions to those who need them most - that is, those Australians with low super balances - particularly Australian women who need to catch up on their super as they approach their retirement," she said.

Reynolds said AIST estimated that less than 3 per cent of working Australians had super balances above $500,000 and that women with super balances in this range were "few and far between".

"Data from one large industry fund, for example, has showed that members with balances of more than $500,000, accounted for less than 0.3 per cent of members at 30 June 2011 and that only 0.1 per cent of members aged 50 and over who made contributions up to the $50,000 cap limit during that year," she said.

"Arguments that women, in particular, will be adversely affected by these changes just don't add up," Reynolds said.

"The vast majority of women who either currently - or in the future - make extra contributions into their super will be unaffected by these measures."

Reynolds said AIST was confident the Australian Taxation Office - which would most likely have responsibility for collecting the data on individuals' account balances - would be able to meet the administrative challenges of the new measures.