Latest news with #SuperMembersCouncil
The Age
3 days ago
- Business
- The Age
The $1700 question: Is your super being paid correctly?
Real Money, a free weekly newsletter giving expert tips on how to save, invest and make the most of your money, is sent every Sunday. You're reading an excerpt − sign up to get the whole newsletter in your inbox. What about if you found out you'd been missing out on a free $1700 a year? Given that's enough to buy a return flight somewhere nice, cover the kids' sporting costs for a year, or buy more than 1000 bags of rolled oats, I can imagine you'd be pretty upset. What about if it was $30,000 instead? That's a lot of oats! While this is a little bit hyperbolic, $1700 is roughly how much each year affected workers are missing out on due to their bosses not paying their super properly. A recent study from the Super Members Council (SMC) found in 2022/23, 3.3 million Australians missed out on $5.7 billion in super due to their entitlements being unpaid or underpaid. By the time retirement rolls around, that $1700 can turn into upwards of $30,000, which is a massive deal when the average super balance at retirement age is between $300,000 to $400,000. Loading What's the problem? This amount is on the up too, with SMC estimating an additional $600 million in super has gone unpaid since last year. Thankfully, there are new laws on the way to help combat this, with the government planning to legislate payday super by next July. This will force employers to pay superannuation each time they pay their employees' regular wage, rather than quarterly as current legislation requires (though some employers choose to pay more frequently), with beefed-up penalties for employers who fail to pay within seven days of wages. It will also increase retirement savings, as more regular payments improves the effect of compounding interest. What you can do about it
The Advertiser
22-07-2025
- Business
- The Advertiser
How we can stop people getting ripped off from employers
When Coco* asked her former boss why she hadn't been paid her super, she was told "not to worry, it's paid quarterly". But as time went by, and with red flags flying ominously, she felt helpless. Despite months of enquiries and reassurances that payment would come, her worst fears were realised when her employer went into liquidation. This left her and colleagues without thousands of dollars in super payments they had earned and were legally owed. Almost every week we hear similar stories to Coco's. Many follow a similar pattern, where a lack of awareness and assumed trust, combined with an out-of-date obligation on employers to only pay super every three months, allows unpaid super to flourish. Analysis by the Super Members Council of unpaid super in Australia shows around 3.3 million people miss out on $5.7 billion a year in retirement savings. That's $110 million a week going unpaid. Over nine years, that has, cost Australians a shocking $47 billion. The average affected worker misses out on $1730 in super in a year. Women, people in insecure jobs, and young workers are most at risk. This adds up - making workers up to $30,000 worse off at retirement. While these numbers are bleak, there is a solution. One that will create a more simplified system for workers and employers than the current legal requirement for super to be paid only once a quarter, while protecting the retirement savings of millions of Australians. Many businesses already do this. Payday super laws - which will see super paid at the same time as wages, making it easier for workers to monitor payments and levelling the playing field for employers, are due to come into effect on July 1, 2026. But legislation to make this happen still needs to be passed by Parliament. While there have been recent calls by one or two voices to delay the reforms, each week they are delayed, one quarter of Australia's workforce is a combined $110 million poorer. And that means less money to pay the bills in retirement after a lifetime of hard work. Australians cannot afford to wait a day longer. To smooth the transition for employers, we've proposed a couple of practical ideas to help. These include having super land in workers accounts within seven business days of paydays. We've also proposed a phased approach to ATO enforcement in the early stages to give comfort to employers genuinely trying to do the right thing. Finally, we've called for employers to be able to validate a worker's correct super account details in real time to help eliminate processing errors when super is paid. Each of these will help to secure this crucial reform. Implementing the laws as planned next year has strong community support. A new survey for the Super Members Council finds more than 70 per cent of Australians want these laws to start on July 1, 2026. Fewer than one in 10 people think the reforms should be delayed. We have a sensible timeline and public goodwill to implement these historic laws. And what a powerful legacy they will be for the government and the Parliament. All that's missing now is a sense of urgency to pass the legislation, so millions of Australians don't live a story like Coco's. So, let's get on with it - and get them paid. When Coco* asked her former boss why she hadn't been paid her super, she was told "not to worry, it's paid quarterly". But as time went by, and with red flags flying ominously, she felt helpless. Despite months of enquiries and reassurances that payment would come, her worst fears were realised when her employer went into liquidation. This left her and colleagues without thousands of dollars in super payments they had earned and were legally owed. Almost every week we hear similar stories to Coco's. Many follow a similar pattern, where a lack of awareness and assumed trust, combined with an out-of-date obligation on employers to only pay super every three months, allows unpaid super to flourish. Analysis by the Super Members Council of unpaid super in Australia shows around 3.3 million people miss out on $5.7 billion a year in retirement savings. That's $110 million a week going unpaid. Over nine years, that has, cost Australians a shocking $47 billion. The average affected worker misses out on $1730 in super in a year. Women, people in insecure jobs, and young workers are most at risk. This adds up - making workers up to $30,000 worse off at retirement. While these numbers are bleak, there is a solution. One that will create a more simplified system for workers and employers than the current legal requirement for super to be paid only once a quarter, while protecting the retirement savings of millions of Australians. Many businesses already do this. Payday super laws - which will see super paid at the same time as wages, making it easier for workers to monitor payments and levelling the playing field for employers, are due to come into effect on July 1, 2026. But legislation to make this happen still needs to be passed by Parliament. While there have been recent calls by one or two voices to delay the reforms, each week they are delayed, one quarter of Australia's workforce is a combined $110 million poorer. And that means less money to pay the bills in retirement after a lifetime of hard work. Australians cannot afford to wait a day longer. To smooth the transition for employers, we've proposed a couple of practical ideas to help. These include having super land in workers accounts within seven business days of paydays. We've also proposed a phased approach to ATO enforcement in the early stages to give comfort to employers genuinely trying to do the right thing. Finally, we've called for employers to be able to validate a worker's correct super account details in real time to help eliminate processing errors when super is paid. Each of these will help to secure this crucial reform. Implementing the laws as planned next year has strong community support. A new survey for the Super Members Council finds more than 70 per cent of Australians want these laws to start on July 1, 2026. Fewer than one in 10 people think the reforms should be delayed. We have a sensible timeline and public goodwill to implement these historic laws. And what a powerful legacy they will be for the government and the Parliament. All that's missing now is a sense of urgency to pass the legislation, so millions of Australians don't live a story like Coco's. So, let's get on with it - and get them paid. When Coco* asked her former boss why she hadn't been paid her super, she was told "not to worry, it's paid quarterly". But as time went by, and with red flags flying ominously, she felt helpless. Despite months of enquiries and reassurances that payment would come, her worst fears were realised when her employer went into liquidation. This left her and colleagues without thousands of dollars in super payments they had earned and were legally owed. Almost every week we hear similar stories to Coco's. Many follow a similar pattern, where a lack of awareness and assumed trust, combined with an out-of-date obligation on employers to only pay super every three months, allows unpaid super to flourish. Analysis by the Super Members Council of unpaid super in Australia shows around 3.3 million people miss out on $5.7 billion a year in retirement savings. That's $110 million a week going unpaid. Over nine years, that has, cost Australians a shocking $47 billion. The average affected worker misses out on $1730 in super in a year. Women, people in insecure jobs, and young workers are most at risk. This adds up - making workers up to $30,000 worse off at retirement. While these numbers are bleak, there is a solution. One that will create a more simplified system for workers and employers than the current legal requirement for super to be paid only once a quarter, while protecting the retirement savings of millions of Australians. Many businesses already do this. Payday super laws - which will see super paid at the same time as wages, making it easier for workers to monitor payments and levelling the playing field for employers, are due to come into effect on July 1, 2026. But legislation to make this happen still needs to be passed by Parliament. While there have been recent calls by one or two voices to delay the reforms, each week they are delayed, one quarter of Australia's workforce is a combined $110 million poorer. And that means less money to pay the bills in retirement after a lifetime of hard work. Australians cannot afford to wait a day longer. To smooth the transition for employers, we've proposed a couple of practical ideas to help. These include having super land in workers accounts within seven business days of paydays. We've also proposed a phased approach to ATO enforcement in the early stages to give comfort to employers genuinely trying to do the right thing. Finally, we've called for employers to be able to validate a worker's correct super account details in real time to help eliminate processing errors when super is paid. Each of these will help to secure this crucial reform. Implementing the laws as planned next year has strong community support. A new survey for the Super Members Council finds more than 70 per cent of Australians want these laws to start on July 1, 2026. Fewer than one in 10 people think the reforms should be delayed. We have a sensible timeline and public goodwill to implement these historic laws. And what a powerful legacy they will be for the government and the Parliament. All that's missing now is a sense of urgency to pass the legislation, so millions of Australians don't live a story like Coco's. So, let's get on with it - and get them paid. When Coco* asked her former boss why she hadn't been paid her super, she was told "not to worry, it's paid quarterly". But as time went by, and with red flags flying ominously, she felt helpless. Despite months of enquiries and reassurances that payment would come, her worst fears were realised when her employer went into liquidation. This left her and colleagues without thousands of dollars in super payments they had earned and were legally owed. Almost every week we hear similar stories to Coco's. Many follow a similar pattern, where a lack of awareness and assumed trust, combined with an out-of-date obligation on employers to only pay super every three months, allows unpaid super to flourish. Analysis by the Super Members Council of unpaid super in Australia shows around 3.3 million people miss out on $5.7 billion a year in retirement savings. That's $110 million a week going unpaid. Over nine years, that has, cost Australians a shocking $47 billion. The average affected worker misses out on $1730 in super in a year. Women, people in insecure jobs, and young workers are most at risk. This adds up - making workers up to $30,000 worse off at retirement. While these numbers are bleak, there is a solution. One that will create a more simplified system for workers and employers than the current legal requirement for super to be paid only once a quarter, while protecting the retirement savings of millions of Australians. Many businesses already do this. Payday super laws - which will see super paid at the same time as wages, making it easier for workers to monitor payments and levelling the playing field for employers, are due to come into effect on July 1, 2026. But legislation to make this happen still needs to be passed by Parliament. While there have been recent calls by one or two voices to delay the reforms, each week they are delayed, one quarter of Australia's workforce is a combined $110 million poorer. And that means less money to pay the bills in retirement after a lifetime of hard work. Australians cannot afford to wait a day longer. To smooth the transition for employers, we've proposed a couple of practical ideas to help. These include having super land in workers accounts within seven business days of paydays. We've also proposed a phased approach to ATO enforcement in the early stages to give comfort to employers genuinely trying to do the right thing. Finally, we've called for employers to be able to validate a worker's correct super account details in real time to help eliminate processing errors when super is paid. Each of these will help to secure this crucial reform. Implementing the laws as planned next year has strong community support. A new survey for the Super Members Council finds more than 70 per cent of Australians want these laws to start on July 1, 2026. Fewer than one in 10 people think the reforms should be delayed. We have a sensible timeline and public goodwill to implement these historic laws. And what a powerful legacy they will be for the government and the Parliament. All that's missing now is a sense of urgency to pass the legislation, so millions of Australians don't live a story like Coco's. So, let's get on with it - and get them paid.
SBS Australia
07-07-2025
- Business
- SBS Australia
More than half of older Australians back Labor's $3 million super tax plan
More than half of older Australians support increasing taxes on high superannuation balances. The federal government is controversially considering lifting taxes on super balances above $3 million from 15 per cent to 30 per cent, a move predicted to affect about 0.5 per cent of savers. Despite outcry from the Opposition, about 57 per cent of seniors endorse the change, according to a survey of 3,000 people aged 50 and older conducted by National Seniors Australia for the Super Members Council. 'Strong sense of fairness' Super Members Council chief executive Misha Schubert said: "There seems to be broad Australian understanding about the importance of equity and sustainability in the super system, and a strong sense of fairness as the starting point." Schubert said the survey results appear to track with broader public sentiment on Labor's bill. Lower confidence in fairness among some Australians While a significant majority of those surveyed believed the super system was strong and sustainable, comparatively fewer thought it was equitable. Women, those with poorer health and Australians with less formal education had lower levels of confidence in its fairness, the report found. Many of these demographics lack equal access to the benefits of superannuation due to a lack of employment opportunities or disrupted work histories. But overall, older Australians almost universally understand the importance of super with 89.5 per cent believing it must be saved for retirement. One in four respondents supported early release of funds beyond current rules. Coalition's housing plan "Policy ideas that propose early release are dangerous and they make Australians poorer," Schubert said.
The Advertiser
06-07-2025
- Business
- The Advertiser
Older Aussies back increased superannuation tax
Most older Australians support increasing taxes on high superannuation balances. The federal government is controversially hoping to lift taxes on super balances above $3 million from 15 per cent to 30 per cent in a move predicted to impact about 0.5 per cent of savers. Despite outcry from the opposition, about 57 per cent of seniors endorse the change, according to a survey of 3000 people aged 50 and older conducted by National Seniors Australia for the Super Members Council. The results appear to track with broader public sentiment on Labor's bill, Super Members Council CEO Misha Schubert said. "There seems to be broad Australian understanding about the importance of equity and sustainability in the super system, and a strong sense of fairness as the starting point," she told AAP. While a significant majority of those surveyed believed the super system was strong and sustainable, comparatively fewer thought it was equitable. Women, those with poorer health and Australians with less formal education had lower levels of confidence in its fairness, the report found. Many of these demographics do not have equal access to the benefits of superannuation because of a lack of employment opportunities or disrupted work histories. But overall, older Australians almost universally understand the importance of super with 89.5 per cent believing it must be saved for retirement. Just one in four supported early release of funds beyond current rules. But the coalition has continued to push a housing plan that would allow first-time home buyers to access up to $50,000 from their super to put down a deposit, despite protests it would raise house prices and leave savers worse-off in the future. "Policy ideas that propose early release are dangerous and they make Australians poorer," Ms Schubert said. Most older Australians support increasing taxes on high superannuation balances. The federal government is controversially hoping to lift taxes on super balances above $3 million from 15 per cent to 30 per cent in a move predicted to impact about 0.5 per cent of savers. Despite outcry from the opposition, about 57 per cent of seniors endorse the change, according to a survey of 3000 people aged 50 and older conducted by National Seniors Australia for the Super Members Council. The results appear to track with broader public sentiment on Labor's bill, Super Members Council CEO Misha Schubert said. "There seems to be broad Australian understanding about the importance of equity and sustainability in the super system, and a strong sense of fairness as the starting point," she told AAP. While a significant majority of those surveyed believed the super system was strong and sustainable, comparatively fewer thought it was equitable. Women, those with poorer health and Australians with less formal education had lower levels of confidence in its fairness, the report found. Many of these demographics do not have equal access to the benefits of superannuation because of a lack of employment opportunities or disrupted work histories. But overall, older Australians almost universally understand the importance of super with 89.5 per cent believing it must be saved for retirement. Just one in four supported early release of funds beyond current rules. But the coalition has continued to push a housing plan that would allow first-time home buyers to access up to $50,000 from their super to put down a deposit, despite protests it would raise house prices and leave savers worse-off in the future. "Policy ideas that propose early release are dangerous and they make Australians poorer," Ms Schubert said. Most older Australians support increasing taxes on high superannuation balances. The federal government is controversially hoping to lift taxes on super balances above $3 million from 15 per cent to 30 per cent in a move predicted to impact about 0.5 per cent of savers. Despite outcry from the opposition, about 57 per cent of seniors endorse the change, according to a survey of 3000 people aged 50 and older conducted by National Seniors Australia for the Super Members Council. The results appear to track with broader public sentiment on Labor's bill, Super Members Council CEO Misha Schubert said. "There seems to be broad Australian understanding about the importance of equity and sustainability in the super system, and a strong sense of fairness as the starting point," she told AAP. While a significant majority of those surveyed believed the super system was strong and sustainable, comparatively fewer thought it was equitable. Women, those with poorer health and Australians with less formal education had lower levels of confidence in its fairness, the report found. Many of these demographics do not have equal access to the benefits of superannuation because of a lack of employment opportunities or disrupted work histories. But overall, older Australians almost universally understand the importance of super with 89.5 per cent believing it must be saved for retirement. Just one in four supported early release of funds beyond current rules. But the coalition has continued to push a housing plan that would allow first-time home buyers to access up to $50,000 from their super to put down a deposit, despite protests it would raise house prices and leave savers worse-off in the future. "Policy ideas that propose early release are dangerous and they make Australians poorer," Ms Schubert said. Most older Australians support increasing taxes on high superannuation balances. The federal government is controversially hoping to lift taxes on super balances above $3 million from 15 per cent to 30 per cent in a move predicted to impact about 0.5 per cent of savers. Despite outcry from the opposition, about 57 per cent of seniors endorse the change, according to a survey of 3000 people aged 50 and older conducted by National Seniors Australia for the Super Members Council. The results appear to track with broader public sentiment on Labor's bill, Super Members Council CEO Misha Schubert said. "There seems to be broad Australian understanding about the importance of equity and sustainability in the super system, and a strong sense of fairness as the starting point," she told AAP. While a significant majority of those surveyed believed the super system was strong and sustainable, comparatively fewer thought it was equitable. Women, those with poorer health and Australians with less formal education had lower levels of confidence in its fairness, the report found. Many of these demographics do not have equal access to the benefits of superannuation because of a lack of employment opportunities or disrupted work histories. But overall, older Australians almost universally understand the importance of super with 89.5 per cent believing it must be saved for retirement. Just one in four supported early release of funds beyond current rules. But the coalition has continued to push a housing plan that would allow first-time home buyers to access up to $50,000 from their super to put down a deposit, despite protests it would raise house prices and leave savers worse-off in the future. "Policy ideas that propose early release are dangerous and they make Australians poorer," Ms Schubert said.
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Older Aussies back increased superannuation tax
Most older Australians support increasing taxes on high superannuation balances. The federal government is controversially hoping to lift taxes on super balances above $3 million from 15 per cent to 30 per cent in a move predicted to impact about 0.5 per cent of savers. Despite outcry from the opposition, about 57 per cent of seniors endorse the change, according to a survey of 3000 people aged 50 and older conducted by National Seniors Australia for the Super Members Council. The results appear to track with broader public sentiment on Labor's bill, Super Members Council CEO Misha Schubert said. "There seems to be broad Australian understanding about the importance of equity and sustainability in the super system, and a strong sense of fairness as the starting point," she told AAP. While a significant majority of those surveyed believed the super system was strong and sustainable, comparatively fewer thought it was equitable. Women, those with poorer health and Australians with less formal education had lower levels of confidence in its fairness, the report found. Many of these demographics do not have equal access to the benefits of superannuation because of a lack of employment opportunities or disrupted work histories. But overall, older Australians almost universally understand the importance of super with 89.5 per cent believing it must be saved for retirement. Just one in four supported early release of funds beyond current rules. But the coalition has continued to push a housing plan that would allow first-time home buyers to access up to $50,000 from their super to put down a deposit, despite protests it would raise house prices and leave savers worse-off in the future. "Policy ideas that propose early release are dangerous and they make Australians poorer," Ms Schubert said.
