More than 18,000 workers across the Parkes electorate collectively withdrew $191.2 million from their retirement nest eggs under the federal government's early superannuation access scheme, new analysis reveals.
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A total of 3266 accounts held by people in the seat were "effectively wiped out" after preservation rules were freed up, Industry Super Australia (ISA) reported.
The scheme allowed workers who had lost their jobs or had hours cut because of the coronavirus pandemic to access $10,000 in super from March and a further $10,000 from July 1.
ISA released the analysis as it ramped up calls for the government to stick to the legislated increase in the super rate to take it to 12 per cent by 2025, starting with a 0.5 per cent rise to 10 per cent in July.
Story continues after graphic.
This month, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg confirmed the government would make a decision about whether to scrap the increase before the end of the financial year.
ISA has called for the rise in the super rate to go ahead.
"The young NSW workers who had to sacrifice their retirement savings to support themselves during the pandemic had been promised a super boost to make it up," ISA chief executive Bernie Dean said.
"Ripping it away from them would be a cruel double blow, it would leave them with far less at retirement and saddle these young workers with a whopping pension bill they pay for through higher taxes."
"Super is not a cookie jar for government to raid to solve short-term budget problems, nor is it for housing. Busting into super early comes at a steep cost for the individual and future taxpayers..."
Parkes MP Mark Coulton rejected the suggestion the government had raided people's super funds.
"We made a decision where people could access their super because of a very severe financial crisis, brought about by a pandemic," he said.
We made a decision where people could access their super because of a very severe financial crisis, brought about by a pandemic.
- Parkes MP Mark Coulton
The MP said the decision to allow early release of super had not been taken lightly, and noted other support measures included JobKeeper and boosting JobSeeker.
"I don't think in hindsight we should gloss over the seriousness of the financial circumstances, not only of the country but of individuals when that decision was made," Mr Coulton said.
Mr Coulton was not prepared to commit to the super increase at this stage, but did not rule it out in the future.
"...when this was first proposed, this was pre-COVID pandemic, and circumstances have changed considerably since then," he said.
"So at this stage I have an open mind on whether that goes ahead or not, and I will be obviously taking advice from Treasury and others as to the capacity for the Australian economy to make that extra commitment."
The Nationals member said with the call for increasing super contributions, it had to be remembered "that those contributions are not being made by the government, but by individual employers".
"As our economy is getting back on its feet after a horrific year last year, and we are encouraging businesses to employ more people, we also need to be very wary and keep in mind the balance that we don't want to burden businesses with added costs that might discourage them from employing people," Mr Coulton said.
"So it is a balance, I do wish people to be able to rebuild their super, but I also, you can't do that if you don't have a job, so we need to maintain that balance..."
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