Pauline Hanson questions compulsory super: ‘It’s their money’

Pauline Hanson says she would not be opposed to changing Australia’s superannuation system to allow people to take money out of their super before retirement.

The One Nation leader said she believes the country’s super rules are too rigid, and that having such a large amount of money locked away during a cost-of-living crisis is impractical.

“A lot of Australians are doing it tough now and struggling to pay off their mortgages,” Hanson told News24 on Sunday.

“In some ways, I feel that you should give them their money now, and let them help them with the cost of living.”

“It is their money; they’ve they’ve sacrificed it in lieu of pay. So, in a lot of cases, people want it.”

Currently, all employers are required to pay a minimum percentage of an employee’s earnings – currently 12 per cent – into a nominated super fund.

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However, you can only access this once you reach 60 years old and retire, or when you turn 65 regardless of whether you still work or not.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers derided Hanson’s remarks in a post on social media.

“One Nation wants to destroy the compulsory superannuation system, just like the Liberals and the Nationals,” he said, vowing Labor would always defend the system.

“They are all a threat to the retirement incomes and economic security of Australian workers.”

Hanson’s comments echo remarks made by Liberal senator Andrew Bragg last week.

At a speech to the National Press Club, he called it a “strange but illiberal experiment” and that giving 12 per cent of employees wages to a super fund manager they don’t meet was a “loss of liberty.”

Speaking to ABC Radio on Thursday, he doubled down on his criticism of compulsory super.

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“It’s one of the biggest public policy failures since federation, in the sense that it hasn’t helped the budget, and it has not really helped many people get off the pension,” he claimed.

“What it has done is it has created a huge viper’s nest for banks and financiers and unions to pilfer, which is why what you saw at the Labor Party conference was now you’re going to have super for under 18s, and soon you’ll have super for cats and dogs.”