Yahoo Finance 'Daylight robbery': Aussies losing $6 billion in super ‘loophole’ every year
One in three Australian workers are losing on average $2,000 a year through their super, new analysis has found.
Industry Super Australia (ISA) numbers found Australians lost $6 billion each year to bosses who use a “loophole” to allow them to avoid paying superannuation.
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As superannuation can be paid as seldom as once a quarter, ISA claims it’s easy for payments to slip through the cracks, or for bosses to deliberately not pay super.
And while workers may believe their superannuation is being paid as it appears on their payslip, it isn’t legally required for employers to pay super at the same time they pay wages.
Speaking on Monday, ISA acting chief executive described it as “daylight robbery” and queried why politicians have their superannuation paid out with their pay packets, but not other Australians.
“The simple fix is to for federal politicians to change the law and make employers pay super at the same time as wages. If it is good enough for our federal politicians it should work that way for all Australians,” Linden said.
“Making super payable on pay day for everyone will make cash flow easier for small business and protect the nest eggs Australians work so hard for – it’s a win-win.”
However, even if bosses are paying the required superannuation amounts every quarter, workers are still losing out on interest earnings, other analysis released by ISA earlier this year found.
In fact, according to its analysis of Australian Tax Office (ATO) data, Aussie savers are losing $225 million in interest on super due to quarterly payment schedules.
An Australian working full time on the average wage from age 20 to 67 would see a lifetime gain of $12,475 in interest if their superannuation payments were shifted from quarterly to fortnightly.
However, the introduction of Single Touch Payroll on 1 July is expected to help small businesses avoid delaying staff payments, as they will then be aware that the ATO is monitoring every pay cycle.
Single Touch Payroll is a regulation that requires businesses send a pay and superannuation report to the ATO every pay day, rather than once a year.
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