Compulsory super for self-employed

Nearly 10% of Australia’s labour force is self-employed and compulsory superannuation should include at least some of them, the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) said.

“Only a relatively small number of the self-employed have business assets sufficient to support a comfortable standard of living in retirement,” AFSA’s submission to the government’s tax white paper argued.

Chief executive Pauline Vamos warned that “we cannot ignore the large proportion of self-employed Australians who are putting off planning and saving for their retirement.”

“While many self-employed workers believe their business will serve as their superannuation, this is not always the case” she said.

“Many of the self-employed do not have significant business or financial assets, and they may face problems retaining the standard of living they are accustomed to when they reach retirement age.”

Vamos said that of particular concern are self-employed workers “being forced to move to a contractor, rather than part-time worker model.”

The submission added that any changes to the superannuation system “need to be considered as part of a holistic review of the system and the Tax White Paper process provides such an opportunity.”

— via the FINANCIAL STANDARD, Aug 12