Register For Our Mailing List

Register to receive our free weekly newsletter including editorials.

Home / 113

A Swiss makeover for Australian super

Superannuation policy is tired. Yawns greeted the recent seven-year freeze of our compulsory contribution rate, and that’s been just one sign of malaise. Switzerland is renowned not only for high-end spas and wellness clinics, but good retirement policy. It’s time we signed up for a Swiss makeover.

In 1972 Switzerland came up with the useful principle of organising retirement income policy into three pillars:

  • Social safety net.
  • Compulsory occupational super. It reduces free riding on the first pillar by affluent households, helps ensure a decent proportion of wage income is replaced in retirement, and boosts national savings ahead of baby-boom retirements.
  • Incentives for voluntary contributions by people seeking comfortable self-funded retirements. More controversially, it also helps retirees to build up an estate for their children.

Since 1992 Australia too has had three pillars, but each needs re-sculpting.

Updating Australia’s three pillars

Our first pillar, the age pension, goes back to 1909. It has increasingly become not just a safety net but a middle-class entitlement. Seven out of 10 retirees rely primarily on the pension. Nine out of 10 draw some pension during part of their retirement.

Since 2009 the pension for a single retiree has stood at 28% of male average earnings. That’s the highest percentage since World War II, and possibly pre-war as well.

In its first budget the current Government tried to phase in reduced indexation of the pension. Indexation was to be wound back to growth in consumer prices alone, instead of the maximum of growth in wages and growth in consumer prices. The Senate blocked this measure.

The Government could return to the Senate with the relevant Swiss policy, namely, indexation at the average of growth in wages and growth in consumer prices. This would amount to a compromise whereby pensioners are generally protected in real terms but do not participate fully in the growth of community living standards.

Our second pillar is also dilapidated. At 9.5% of wages the compulsory contribution rate leaves us snookered. On the one hand it’s too low to counter pervasive pension dependence. On the other hand, and to the extent employers are unable to pass the compulsory levy on to employees, it jeopardises the competitiveness of Australian workers, particularly young ones. To the extent employers are able to pass on the compulsory levy to employees, however, young workers struggle to pay down study debts and put together a deposit on a home.

Swiss policies towards the second pillar can get us out of this bind.

The lifetime compulsory contribution rate in Switzerland averages about 12% of lifetime wages. This rate would be high enough for our second pillar to make worthwhile inroads into pension dependence.

Because young workers need to pay down study debts, raise a home deposit and avoid being priced out of a job, compulsory contributions on their behalf should be cut. In Switzerland the mandatory contribution rate for workers aged between 25 and 34 is just 7% of wages, compared with 15% in the case of workers aged between 45 and 54. Compared with Australia’s flat 9.5%, Switzerland’s age profile for compulsory contributions is closer to what an intelligent and far-sighted household would voluntarily choose in the absence of compulsory super and the age pension.

To support the competitiveness of Australian workers, future rises in compulsory contributions should fall on employees. This would take us part-way towards the Swiss policy whereby employers are allowed to pay as little as one half of second-pillar contributions.

Employer contributions to our super are generally taxed at a flat 15%, as are fund earnings before retirement. In this way, there is no progressivity in our super taxes, apart from contribution limits and a higher tax on employer contributions on behalf of those with salaries exceeding $300,000 per annum. Wealthy families use housing investments outside super to avoid tax, access the pension and protect planned estates. This diverts savings from productive investments, and props up house prices.

In Switzerland and most other countries, by contrast, super taxes are delayed until retirement. Retirement income is taxed in line with the regular progressive rate scale. So lifetime taxation of super is effectively a progressive consumption tax. This promotes fairness and efficiency.

Then there is the worrying fact that Australian super funds have the highest exposure to growth assets within the OECD. Switzerland, by contrast, caps equity investments at 50% and real estate investments at 30%.

New type of super account

We need a new kind of super account alongside the familiar one paying lump sums after retirement. These new accounts would be reserved for lifelong income streams, again echoing Switzerland, which encourages annuitisation of second-pillar benefits. Precise specification of eligible lifelong income streams — life expectancy products versus full life annuities, minimum annual escalation rates, etc. — is of second-order importance, and is best left to another occasion.

Like existing accounts the new ones would be subject to contribution limits. Indeed, these limits would initially need to be low, to protect the budget in the short term.

The new accounts would be tax-free until retirement, at which point annuity income would face the regular rate scale. Exposure to growth assets within the new accounts, once annuitised, would be capped at 50%.

Super contributors could open either or both types of account, in this respect echoing the United States and Canada. (Good as it is, Swiss policy isn’t the answer to all our problems). Over time, however, changes in contribution limits would redirect compulsory contributions into the new Swiss-style accounts. Likewise, compulsory contributions on behalf of new workers would go into the new accounts.

The old-style accounts would still be taxed upfront, largely free of asset restrictions and eligible for lump-sum withdrawals. But they would eventually be reserved largely for third-pillar retirement savings.

 

Geoffrey Kingston is a professor in the Department of Economics at Macquarie University. He would like to thank the Centre for International Financial Regulation for research support.

 

4 Comments
Andrew Wakeling
June 23, 2015

I see the Financial Times likes our pension system ranking it second only to Denmark with Switzerland behind us. (See their survey published today.). The grass is always greener ....... etc.

Greg Einfeld
June 14, 2015

Yes we can certainly learn a lot from overseas systems. Although I don't agree with everything the Swiss are doing either.

I have 6 big issues with our system. And I realise I won't win too many friends in the superannuation industry with these comments. In reality though, the best thing for the industry in the long term is to have a sustainable system that can be left in place without constant tinkering. This is what it could look like:.

1. Employer contributions are taxed concessionally. They should be taxed at marginal tax rates. Why provide an incentive to contribute when it is compulsory. Note this might need to be offset by an increase in contribution rates over time.

2. Unlimited amounts can be withdrawn from super once members retire above 55 or turn 65. Withdrawals from the system should be restricted to a maximum % being withdrawn each year.

3. Tax incentives can be abused by the wealthy. There should be a lifetime restriction on contributions or lower contribution limits or a restriction on voluntary contributions once a member's super balance exceeds a given level. The alternative (not my preference) is a higher tax on large balances.

4. Super benefits can be inherited with little or no tax. There should be a bigger inheritance tax on super. This is where I won't be popular. But let's face it, super is there for retirement savings. It is not intended to be a tax effective estate planning vehicle. Anyone who complains about this is by definition acknowledging that they are using their super to fund their children's inheritance. People would have a choice: Contribute to super to fund retirement tax effectively, or leave money outside super to fund inheritances.

5. The income test on the age pension should be abolished. It discourages older workers from working.

6. The assets test should include the home and if you have more than about $100,000 then you shouldn't receive the age pension. I won't be popular here either. But let me ask - why should anyone receive a handout from the government when they have their own assets?

These changes could not be introduced overnight, they would need to be phased in over many years. But they would take us towards a far more sustainable system. The government could then reduce personal and company taxes.

I'm ready for the rotten tomatoes...

Tim Richardson
June 12, 2015

Thanks Geoffrey, interesting article.
Agree with most of this but I would take issue with your suggestion of scaling compulsory contribution rates by age.
Such a benefit to younger employees would of course be off-set by the disadvantaging of older workers who become relatively less attractive to employers. This is evidenced by the difficulty many workers experience when job hunting in their 50s; increasingly problematic as people delay the family period of their lives. Governments that hope to see retirement dates delayed as the population ages will view this proposal with concern.
Furthermore the issue of compound returns means that retirement incomes will fall significantly if even modest savings are foregone in the crucial early years of employment.
The point about younger workers struggling to access the housing market (whilst making super contributions) is very relevant. However this would be better addressed by government reviewing its economically illiterate long-standing and generationally-unjust policy that house prices must always rise. Better to correct one bad policy rather than off-set it's effects with another.

Andrew Wakeling
June 11, 2015

...That whatever we do there will be a continual agitation for change? That our children and grandchildren ( be they Swiss or Australian) will never be able to rely on any structure for long term savings? That the only constancy will be the continuing outrageous rents paid to the financial services industry?

 

Leave a Comment:


RELATED ARTICLES

Changes are coming to superannuation

The most complex super system in the world

Rethinking how retirees view the family home

banner

Most viewed in recent weeks

The nuts and bolts of family trusts

There are well over 800,000 family trusts in Australia, controlling more than $3 trillion of assets. Here's a guide on whether a family trust may have a place in your individual investment strategy.

Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 581 with weekend update

A recent industry event made me realise that a 30 year old investing trend could still have serious legs. Could it eventually pose a threat to two of Australia's biggest companies?

  • 10 October 2024

Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 583 with weekend update

Investing guru Howard Marks says he had two epiphanies while visiting Australia recently: the two major asset classes aren’t what you think they are, and one key decision matters above all else when building portfolios.

  • 24 October 2024

Warren Buffett is preparing for a bear market. Should you?

Berkshire Hathaway’s third quarter earnings update reveals Buffett is selling stocks and building record cash reserves. Here’s a look at his track record in calling market tops and whether you should follow his lead and dial down risk.

Preserving wealth through generations is hard

How have so many wealthy families through history managed to squander their fortunes? This looks at the lessons from these families and offers several solutions to making and keeping money over the long-term.

A big win for bank customers against scammers

A recent ruling from The Australian Financial Complaints Authority may herald a new era for financial scams. For the first time, a bank is being forced to reimburse a customer for the amount they were scammed.

Latest Updates

Property

Coalition's super for housing plan is better than it looks

Housing affordability is shaping up as a major topic as we head toward the next federal election. The Coalition's proposal to allow home buyers to dip into their superannuation has merit, though misses one key feature.

Planning

Avoiding wealth transfer pitfalls

Australia is in the early throes of an intergenerational wealth transfer worth an estimated $3.5 trillion. Here's a case study highlighting some of the challenges with transferring wealth between generations.

Retirement

More people want to delay retirement and continue working

A new survey suggests that most people aged 50 or over don't intend to stop work completely when they reach retirement age. And a significant proportion of those who delay retirement do so for non-financial reasons.

Economy

US debt, the weak AUD and the role of super funds

The more the US needs capital and funding, the higher its currency goes. For Australia, this has become a significant problem as the US draws our capital to sustain its growth, putting pressure on our economy and the Aussie dollar.

Investment strategies

America eats the world

As the S&P 500 rips to new highs, the US now accounts for a staggering two-thirds of the world equity index. This looks at how America came to dwarf other markets, and what could change to slow or halt its momentum.

Gold

What's next for gold?

Despite a recent pullback, gold has been one of the best performing assets this year. What are the key factors behind the rise and what's needed for the bull market in the yellow metal to continue?

Taxation

Consulting on the side? Don't fall into these tax traps

Consultants must be aware of the risks of Personal Service Income rules applying to their income. Especially if they want to split their income or work through a company.

Sponsors

Alliances

© 2024 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

Disclaimer
The data, research and opinions provided here are for information purposes; are not an offer to buy or sell a security; and are not warranted to be correct, complete or accurate. Morningstar, its affiliates, and third-party content providers are not responsible for any investment decisions, damages or losses resulting from, or related to, the data and analyses or their use. To the extent any content is general advice, it has been prepared for clients of Morningstar Australasia Pty Ltd (ABN: 95 090 665 544, AFSL: 240892), without reference to your financial objectives, situation or needs. For more information refer to our Financial Services Guide. You should consider the advice in light of these matters and if applicable, the relevant Product Disclosure Statement before making any decision to invest. Past performance does not necessarily indicate a financial product’s future performance. To obtain advice tailored to your situation, contact a professional financial adviser. Articles are current as at date of publication.
This website contains information and opinions provided by third parties. Inclusion of this information does not necessarily represent Morningstar’s positions, strategies or opinions and should not be considered an endorsement by Morningstar.