Is our superannuation system failing young Australians?

An upcoming research report aims to determine what changes would be required to make Australia’s superannuation system more compatible with the ‘gig economy’ that many young Australians depend on.

The joint report, to be compiled by Vision Super and the John Curtin Research Centre, is set to address the impact of the decline of traditional 9 to 5 jobs in Australia, and outline the necessary measures to address systemic issues within Australian superannuation, including a new model for compulsory employer contributions to address the challenges of freelance work and underemployment.

According to John Curtin Research Centre executive director, Dr Nick Dyrenfurth, a third of Australia’s young people are missing out on compulsory employer super contributions, because they don’t earn $450 a month from a single employer.

“In decades to come, if a third of the workplace has no retirement savings, it will have a massive impact on the age pension.”

Vision Super CEO, Stephen Rowe, added that while Australia’s superannuation savings pool is the largest per capita in the world, changes to the Aussie workplace means the system is failing young people.

“This is a growing problem that will require sophisticated, bipartisan public policy solutions to prevent millions of Australians falling through the cracks.”

The report, which is set to include a new pro-rata compulsory employer super contributions model, is due to be released in September 2017.

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