Superannuation is unlikely to be a significant election issue because the things the Government is likely to change in the May Budget will not unduly disturb voters.
That is the bottom line of the a Super Review roundtable conducted during the Conference of Major Superannuation Funds (CMSF) in Adelaide last week with participants agreeing the Government would likely steer clear of controversial issues such as increasing the taxation of super in the retirement phase.
Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) chief executive, Tom Garcia said that while he would like to see things such as maintaining the Low Income Superannuation Contribution (LISC) become serious issues through the campaign this was unlikely to be the case.
However, he said there might be some debate if the transition to retirement (TTR) arrangements were closed off, and it was possible there would be further unrest around the assets test changes introduced in the last Budget.
“The hollowing out of the assets has really hit middle Australia,” he said.
EIS Super chief executive, Alex Hutchison said the Government had already mentioned the cost of TTR arrangements, and said it would be to assume Australians would be unconcerned about superannuation.
“A lot of Australians understand superannuation and they jealously guard it,” he said.
“Anyone 40 and above is thinking ‘I can put money into super or I can negative gear’.”
Hutchison referenced comments by the Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, that if you wanted to discourage something you taxed it and if you want to encourage something you didn’t.
However, he said the Government was unlikely to run into serious trouble if targeted higher income earners.
Pillar Administration chief executive, Peter Brook agreed that the Government might move to target tax concessions to higher income earners, but suggested it did not have the appetite to do much more than that.
