Super

The government’s retirement income review is being told our current tax and benefit treatment of retirement incomes is a mess.

What’s the purpose of a business? For a long time, the textbook answer to that question has been purely “to make as much money as possible for its shareholders”. But business leaders – who often themselves get huge payouts from this model – are beginning to challenge this orthodoxy.

The debate about whether compulsory employer superannuation contributions should be increased from the current level of 9.5 per cent is constantly simmering, waiting for the next opportunity to boil over.

Variations in personal circumstances show that a uniform rate of SG cannot be effective in targeting adequacy for all. However, we must choose a suitable rate – one that provides adequacy for most while not being excessively generous to too many.