BY IAN CROUCH

A Newcastle financial planner says a superannuation safe haven could be a thing of the past as the Federal government proposes changes to the way Australians save for retirement.

Those most likely to be at a disadvantage are those planning to retire in the next few years, as concessional rates could be reduced and taxes on withdrawing from super increase.

The biggest proposal is to reduce concessional contribution caps from $30,000 for those under 50 years old and $35,000 for those over 50, to $25,000 across the board.

Newcastle Financial Planner, Elliot Watson says this will greatly impact the amount of savings accumulated for retirement.

“If the government shrinks this window from $35,000 down to $25,000 for those over 50, most people will never have enough, and this is just going to make it even harder and give them even less, which is going to affect their standard of living at retirement and it’s going to put more pressure on the age pension system, which the taxpayer is going to have to pay anyway. The government needs to re-think its strategy and review what the purpose of superannuation is and how these policy changes are going to hinder that objective of superannuation.”, he said.



Elliot Watson