Pressure on for super increase
By
Kate Kachor
Mon 26 Jul 2010
All eyes, it seems, are on the prize.
Just days after Prime Minister Julia Gillard set the date for Australians to cast their vote, the industry set itself in motion.
In a show of strength and bipartisan support, a number of Australia's superannuation and financial services industry associations have backed the Labor government's push to increase the country's compulsory superannuation contributions to 12 per cent.
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees and Financial Services Council (FSC) (formerly the Investment and Financial Services Association) have each voiced their support for an increase in super contributions for all Australians from 9 per cent to 12 per cent.
While it is no great shock for superannuation-specific associations to throw their support behind changes that would benefit Australians in their retirement, the push by the FSC is a surprise.
In its first port of call since re-branding as the FSC, association chief John Brogden has put its goods and services tax (GST) push to one side and is turning its focus on concerns around superannuation reforms.
"We are in very deep discussions with the government and with the bureaucracy, Treasury in particular. We want to see a stable investment environment after the next election, no matter who is elected," Brogden told IFA sister publication InvestorDaily.
"We want to see the SG (superannuation guarantee) increase to 12 per cent, which will benefit individual Australians and grow the savings pool of the country. So those are some of our initial priorities."
He said the association's immediate priority was to ensure the regulation and reform facing Australia's financial services industry would be beneficial to consumers and the industry.
"The Future of Financial Advice and SuperStream are two massive areas of regulatory and structural reform in the industry and we believe, if properly implemented, they'll massively benefit consumers and reduce costs and make the industry more competitive," he said.
"So we're excited about those changes, but we want to make sure they go through properly."
The interest in regulation and reform comes after Brogden outlined FSC's agenda earlier this month.
As part of his earlier agenda, Brogden said the FSC would look at the tax system, migration and the role of older workers in the workplace.
"Australia's tax system needs an overhaul. We will be advocating for the GST to increase to 15 per cent, replacing some of the state taxes," he said at the time.
"Regulation needs to also be relevant to our industry. We don't need to adopt a truckload of regulation from the United States and the United Kingdom just because that regulation responds to their dilemmas."
As the 21 August deadline begins to approach, FSC it appears is back in line with the rest of the industry and focusing on the immediate impacts on Australians.
|
