- Technical Resource
- Superfund taxation
Superannuation Tax Concessions
- The superannuation tax concessions are integral to the design of the Australian superannuation system.
- The concessional tax treatment of superannuation provides an incentive for people to save for their future retirement by deferring the use of their current income for future consumption in retirement.
- The tax concessions also compensate people for locking away their income for an extended period. Income can be inaccessible in superannuation for timeframes in excess of 40 years for many savers.
- Encouraging people to save for their retirement will reduce the need for people to rely on the Age Pension for income in retirement. This will reduce fiscal pressures on future governments.
- Critics of the superannuation tax concessions point to the high number of retirees still reliant on the Age Pension (either a full or part-pension). This ignores current retirees not having had the benefit of a mature superannuation system with both compulsory and voluntary contributions throughout the majority of their working life to build retirement savings.
At the time of publishing, the contents of this resource were accurate and correct.
Disclaimer: Technical Papers contain general advice only and are prepared without taking into account particular objectives, financial circumstances and needs. The information provided is not a substitute for legal, tax and financial product advice. Before making any decision based on this information, you should assess its relevance to the individual circumstances of your client. While the SMSF Association believes that the information provided is accurate, no warranty is given as to its accuracy and persons who rely on this information do so at their own risk. The information provided in this bulletin is not considered financial product advice for the purposes of the Corporations Act 2001. © SMSF Association