Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the fact that Super doesn’t have a legislated purpose “leaves the gates open for early access.”
At this week’s roundtable event, Treasury Secretary Jim Chalmers discussed Labor’s plans for the old-age pension plan and what he believes are priorities.
Mr Chalmers said while Labor is open to new ideas to improve the retirement system, it has no intention of undermining the basics of the retirement system, such as sole purpose and maintenance.
“We don’t redirect funds to asset classes or look for new excuses to give members early access.In my view, it was a disaster,” Chalmers said. of Australian Financial Review.
“What we do is soberly diagnose systemic and economic challenges and address them.”
One thing Labor would like to work on, he said, is to legislate the purpose of superannuation.
“We believe the lack of purpose of a legislated super is a source of ambiguity and leaves the early access gates open, so we will legislate it,” he said. I was.
Various groups in the SMSF space, including the SMSF Association, Advocated for the purpose of legislating the old-age pension to reduce legislative change.
Mr Chalmers said another focus of the government is non-payment and non-compliance with SG.
“We are working on a reform package to make sure people get the super they earn,” he said.
Chalmers said, given the surge in spending on care for the elderly and the need to fund it, the government wants to explore what additional role supermarkets can play in it.
He also assured those in the super industry that he had no interest or inclination to be “driven into unnecessary or ideological battles” in connection with the super industry.
“There has been too much of that in the last 10 years. We are looking for solutions and opportunities, not unnecessary quarrels,” he said.
