Is Australia saving too much for retirement?

Updated October 9, 2026 — 12:09pm,first published 11:43am

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When Paul Keating addressed federal parliament the day after Australia’s compulsory superannuation system was born in June 1992, the message was simple.

“For the first time … ordinary Australians will be able to build a decent nest egg for their retirement,” said the then-prime minister.

“People now on average weekly earnings will be able to retire on an income twice the old-age pension ... with the passage of the legislation last night, a decent level of superannuation provision becomes the right and expectation of every Australian employee.”

Super has since become a financial behemoth. Australians’ collective tally of $4.8 trillion is the world’s fourth-biggest pool of private retirement savings, and it could rise to second place during the next decade.

But as voters grapple with a housing affordability crisis and the worst cost of living crunch in living memory, Keating’s vision for superannuation is increasingly contested.

The sheer scale of the super pile has made it an irresistible political target.

At the past two federal elections the Coalition has proposed using super to address the housing crisis; it promised home buyers would be allowed to withdraw a portion of their superannuation and put it towards a home deposit.

Shadow housing minister Andrew Bragg, trenchant critic of compulsory superannuation, has indicated the Coalition is again considering policy options to allow early access to super, including using it as collateral for a mortgage.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson wants to use super to ease cost of living pressures. Last month she announced a One Nation government would allow renters and home borrowers to withdraw up to one-quarter of their regular superannuation contributions for up to three years.

Super wars escalate as Coalition leans into mortgage plan

“One Nation wants to give people some breathing room” Hanson said.

For Labor, Australia’s superannuation system has become an article of faith. It claims One Nation and the Coalition would destroy the universal character of the scheme.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has even framed the next election as, in part, “a referendum on super”.

So Labor, the Coalition and........

© The Age