IMAGINE THE OUTCRY if Fair Work Australia decided that the minimum wage had to be increased so every family could afford a huge $4000 fridge, the latest wide screen TV, extensive travel and a flutter on the pokies. Business would condemn the Rudd government’s new industrial relations body as a throwback to the bad old...

Retirement has traditionally been viewed as a process that involves an abrupt change from working continuously in a full-time job to leaving the labour force completely and remaining permanently retired. Today the pathways to retirement are believed to be much more diverse, with many more people expected make a gradual transition into retirement. These transition...

Over the past decade, changes to Australia’s retirement income policy have been announced in almost every Federal Budget, with no signs yet that reform is coming to an end. Indeed, the Simpler Super reforms announced in the 2006 Federal Budget have been described as the largest overhaul of Australia’s superannuation system since the introduction of...

While much of the superannuation system has remained unaltered by these changes, many aspects have been comprehensively altered, especially the taxation of the benefits when paid to the individual. This paper outlines these and subsequent significant changes to Australia’s superannuation system since 1 July 2007.

Retirement income and superannuation have been significant themes for the federal government since Federation. In common with other countries Australia’s retirement income system has three component parts or pillars as they are known. The social security Age Pension is its foundation. The compulsory superannuation contributions under the Superannuation Guarantee regime is its second pillar. The...