Mercer’s latest SG opinion poll found that fifty-seven per cent of respondents aged over 50 felt that a delay in the SG increase to 12 per cent would have a negative impact on their superannuation savings.
“Delaying the increase could obviously bring short-term savings to the government’s bottom line, but we don’t believe it is sensible long-term policy as delaying or decreasing superannuation savings will increase the future cost to the government,” Mercer's managing director and market leader, Pacific, David Anderson said.
“In the long run, such a move will prove to be a false economy, with the Commonwealth government - and, ultimately, future taxpayers - forced to pick up the tab.”
The survey also found that overall support for boosting the SG is growing, with 68 per cent of working Australians backing an increase from 9 per cent to 12 or 15 per cent, compared with 63 per cent supporting an increase in 2009.
The proportion that disagreed or strongly disagreed with the measure halved, from 20 per cent to 10 per cent.
In addition, the survey found that 45 per cent of respondents believe sole responsibility for funding the increase in SG lies with the employer, compared with 35 per cent in 2009.
“[The] report showed that most employers are choosing to bear the incremental cost increases, rather than take a hit to employee morale and engagement,” Mr Anderson said.
“Employment costs could well rise from July onwards, and employers will need to build this into workforce planning and reward budgets.”
