Retirement incomes
12 August 2020
There’s a lot more to retirement incomes than super
An unbalanced retirement incomes debate can lead to poor policy choices.
For example, an excessive focus on superannuation has distorted the ways
in which we try to reduce poverty among retirees.
29 May 2020
Unaffordable housing is the biggest threat to a comfortable retirement
Most Australians are comfortable in retirement, provided they own their homes. But we’re failing retirees who rent.
24 November 2019
Super: you can have too much of a good thing
Higher compulsory superannuation wouldn’t tackle the biggest challenge facing our retirement incomes system: retirees who rent. They are at severe risk of poverty because rent assistance is inadequate.
5 August 2019
On any view, the case for higher compulsory super hasn’t been made
At the heart of the debate over higher compulsory superannuation sit big trade-offs that are too rarely acknowledged. Grattan’s work on retirement incomes shows that raising compulsory super would be bad for workers, pensioners, and taxpayers.
22 July 2019
The case for higher compulsory super hasn’t been made
The response from Australia’s peak superannuation lobbies to our latest research has been predictable, disappointing — and wrong.
10 July 2019
Super shock: more compulsory super would make Middle Australia poorer, not richer
The typical worker would lose about $30,000 over their lifetime if compulsory superannuation contributions are lifted from 9.5 per cent of wages to 12 per cent, as has been legislated.
20 June 2019
Why super is a burden on the budget
Compulsory superannuation saves the government money on pensions — but nowhere near enough to pay for the accompanying tax concessions. Lifting compulsory contributions will make things worse, for a century.
11 June 2019
Three retirement income priorities for the returned Morrison Government
The Morrison Government confronts a big agenda when it comes to retirement incomes. They need to implement the superannuation recommendations of the Hayne Royal Commission and respond to the Productivity Commission inquiry into superannuation costs.
28 May 2019
Superannuation review first must set goal posts
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg should be commended for announcing plans to review Australia’s retirement incomes system. But to do better, we first need to set up the goalposts. Even though governments spend $50 billion each year on the age pension and another $30 billion on superannuation tax breaks, our retirement incomes system has never had a formal objective.
21 May 2019
Why super could be part of the fallout from Election 2019
Rethinking the scheduled increase to the Superannuation Guarantee is now a distinct possibility. There’s no obvious reason to increase compulsory contributions — and workers would be the winners if compulsory super contributions were not increased.