Raid on nest eggs to hit more Aussies

Treasurer Wayne Swan and Superannuation Minister Bill Shorten say the hit will affect just 16,000 people. Picture: Kym Smith Source: News Limited

HUNDREDS of millions of dollars in tax concessions promised to ordinary families have been dumped, under a near $1 billion government raid on superannuation.

Treasurer Wayne Swan was also accused by the Opposition of breaking a promise not to tax retirement payments after he announced yesterday superannuation earnings over $100,000 a year would be slugged at 15 per cent.

Mr Swan and Superannuation Minister Bill Shorten said the hit would affect just 16,000 people with more than $2 million in superannuation assets and would save $350 million over forward estimates.

However, Treasury modelling was based on only a five per cent return.If superannuation funds returned to pre GFC days of returns above 10 per cent, the measure would hit more than 126,000 households with superannuation balances from $1 million, superannuation experts said yesterday.

"Why should someone who has millions of dollars in a superannuation account pay no tax on their earnings, while someone on $80,000 a year pays a marginal tax rate of 37 cents in the dollar,'' Mr Swan said.

The Gillard government says only about 16,000 retirees will be impacted by changes to tax on super earnings.

A spokesman for the Treasurer denied the government had been misleading when Mr Swan and Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the government would never tax superannuation payments.

The tax would be on earnings, he said.

Super experts said the changes announced yesterday would hit Mum and Dad investors aged over 50 who have raised children, paid off their home and had been promised generous tax concessions to contribute more to their retirement.

The government had deferred to next year a promise to allow people aged over 50 with super balances below $500,000 to make concessional contributions of $50,000 a year, a promise that was yesterday scrapped.

Instead, the government will increase the concessional limit from $25,000 to $35,000 a year to all people regardless of their balance if they are aged over 60 from this July and for people aged over 50 from next year, saving $365 million.

Figures from The National Centre for Social and Economic modelling show there were more than 3.7 million Australians aged over 50 with less than $500,000 in their super funds in 2009-10 who will have access to a $10,000 cap increase instead of $25,000.

When Labor took office in 2007, Australians could put away $100,000 in concessional contributions each year with the cap already cut by Mr Swan.

"The majority of people are not in a position to make significant voluntary contributions until the last three to four years of their working like,'' Brad Twentyman of accounting firm Pitcher Partners said.

"What the system is going to spit out at the end is people with $200,000, $300,000 and $400,000, it is not going to spit people out so they don't qualify for the aged pension.''

He said the 15 per cent tax would take in more people as return rates on super rose, adding: "The real people who are going to be impacted are not fabulously wealthy, they just have been diligent and saved for their retirement.''

Industry Super's David Whitely disagreed, saying long term projections by ASIC had predicted super returns would reach around 6.5 per cent with pre GFC earnings unlikely to be repeated.

He said the changes "begin the process of of making the system a little more sustainable.''

Financial Services Council Chief Executive John Brogden said the industry would shelve an advertising campaign and he said a government proposal to establish a Council of Superannuation Custodians to oversee future changes was positive.

Former prime minister Paul Keating, who designed Australia's superannuation scheme, welcomed the changes along with former Minister Simon Crean who had warned the government against retrospectively taxing superannuation.

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