Public Policy Issue in Superannuation

The minimum percentage superannuation guarantee contribution (SG) employers are required to pay on behalf of employees is set to increase over time, with five legislated increases of 0.5 per cent of salary starting in July 2021 that are scheduled to take compulsory super from 9.5 per cent of salary to 12 per cent over five years. On the one hand, it is argued that without the increases, many workers will retire without adequate savings for a comfortable retirement. On the other hand, findings from the Federal Government's Retirement Income Review Report, released in November last year, argued that "more efficient" use of retirement savings could be a better way to improve retirement incomes than increasing the super guarantee. Given that the majority of increases in the SG will come at the expense of pay rises, now is perhaps not the right time to increase mandated superannuation contributions.

Required : Provide arguments for and against the planned increases in SG contributions and discuss whether you believe there may be more effective and efficient measures available to assist in increasing the retirement incomes of Australians.

Your answer should be fully referenced and contain: an Introduction, Body and a Conclusion.