Gillard Govt extends Super concession
The Gillard Government has decided to extend for another year an emergency concession granted to self-funded retirees because of the ongoing concern of a possible future collapse in worldwide sharemarkets.
For the past two years – during the period of the global financial crisis – superannuation recipients have been able to pay themselves only half the usual required minimum to help rebuild their fund’s capital.
Now, Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has approved an extension which she said would take some pressure off self-funded retirees.
The Superannuation Funds Association chief executive, Pauline Vamos, welcomed the extension and said that “fund members need more time to allow their account balances to recover”.
The news came as Australian superannuation funds dropped more than 5% from accounts after seven straight days of losses on the Australian sharemarket. The median return for the last financial year is forecast to be around 9.6%, down from the 15% reported in April.
