Expert dismisses alarmist super claims

A leading financial expert has dismissed as alarmist industry claims a freeze on compulsory employer superannuation contributions will be a huge setback for ordinary Australians.

Daryl Dixon says estimates the decision to defer incremental annual increases until 2021 will slug workers more than $100 billion are based on simplistic and unrealistic assumptions.

And he questions the political value of opposing the measure.

"Being forced to build up large super balances that are untouchable until a late age is not an attractive idea for many voters," Mr Dixon writes in Fairfax Media on Tuesday.

Industry estimates assumed that employers would meekly pay the additional contributions without reducing future wage increases or reducing the number of employees because of the additional oncost, he said.

Many, particularly those in the younger age groups and middle-aged homeowners with mortgages would, if asked, prefer to receive additional take-home pay to help fund their mortgages and other commitments.

Mr Dixon, executive chairman of Dixon Advisory, which administers 4500 self-managed super funds with more than $5 billion in assets, argues there are flaws in the argument that compulsory super is the best option to boost national savings.

That's because there was no fail-safe way to ensure smaller employers make the required contributions on a timely basis and there was no compulsion for the self-employed and other non-wage-earning taxpayers to contribute to super.