Here's what the average person with $3 million in super looks like

Sydney Morning Herald

2 days ago

The average wage-earner who will be hit by Labor's superannuation tax changes is an older man pulling in more than $240,000 a year and living in a major city as the government looks to patch up the budget with its planned tax rise on retirement balances over $3 million.
But the analysis of tax numbers from the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia shows that the median income for people affected by the change is much lower, at $110,000, and just a quarter have an investment property.
Labor will need to secure the support of the Greens over coming weeks to pass its legislation, which will lift the concessional tax rate on earnings from the portion of super balances above $3 million from 15 per cent to 30 per cent and which it claims will raise about $2.7 billion in revenue.
Only about one in 200 Australians are expected to take a hit when the laws come into effect, but critics have suggested far more people will be affected in coming years if the threshold is not tied to wage growth or inflation.
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Opposition Leader Sussan Ley this week told the Coalition party room, ahead of the opening of the 48th parliament, that the Coalition would target Labor's tax agenda after leaked Treasury advice urged the treasurer to consider new taxes too boost the budget bottom line. Ley vowed to 'fight them every step of the way'.
ASFA's research, based on the latest data from the Australian Tax Office (ATO) during the 2022-23 period, found about 77,400 – or more than nine in 10 affected individuals – have super balances of more than $3 million but less than $10 million.
The remaining 7 per cent have between $10 million and $50 million banked up in super, while about 100 Australians – less than 1 per cent of those affected and less than 0.005 per cent of the population – have nest eggs exceeding $50 million.