Mr Costello estimated there were 33 changes in budgets and mid-year reviews to superannuation under the former government, according to the ABC.
“People just don’t trust superannuation as being a long-term vehicle anymore,” Mr Costello said. “They know the rules are going to vary from year to year.
“If you want to put money away for 20, 30 or 40 years you have to have some certainty it’s going to be there when you retire, and I think the government’s got to give it some certainty,” he said.
His comments follow long-standing calls from the SMSF sector, including The SMSF Association, to remove superannuation from the short-term budgetary cycle.
David Murray’s financial system report, released in December, also called for the bipartisan support of superannuation and for the objectives of the superannuation system to be enshrined in legislation.
Perfectly sensible comment. What is the point of saving if you don’t think you will ever be able to touch it? There should be no preservation required where anyone draws on super as a pension or annuity. Then super could function as an income stabilization measure and help replace or reduce other social security payouts. By forcing people to lock up super the government is just making them more dependent.
I 100% agree with these comments
Of course people don’t want to lock money away for 20 or more years. They kept changing the age it can be accessed. The rate it’s going, I doubt I’ll be able to access my super before I’m 70. I’d like to actually be able to spend some money while I can enjoy it rather than on my nursing home bed. I think I’ll keep the bare minimum in super and the rest somewhere more accessible thanks. And I’m and SMSF accountant!