There is little doubt that 2008 will be a year when Australians come increasingly to terms with the new super system and what it means for them.
The drama surrounding the changes in mid-2007 - accentuated by the rush to make extra-large contributions by June 30 to take advantage of transitional arrangements - should have gone.
My personal expectations are that many people will be reviewing their salary-packaging arrangements to possibly cutback on non-super packaged benefits and cash salary wherever possible so as to increase their salary-sacrificed super contributions.
Certainly, the idea of even thinking about of taking home less cash salary to make larger super contributions will be a tough challenge and perhaps unaffordable for many younger families - particularly those with high mortgages and child-care costs.
But the new super system with strict caps on annual contributions means, of course, that fund members are under more pressure to begin voluntary saving for retirement earlier in their working lives rather than leaving it for a last-minute dash.
Unquestionably, 2008 will be a year when members thoughtfully cherry-pick their way through the new super rules looking for arrangements and strategies that best suit their circumstances.
The strategy for members over 55 of taking transition-to-retirement pensions while simultaneously increasing their salary-sacrificed contributions is set to become increasingly popular over the next 12 months.
Although transition-to-retirement pensions or pre-retirement pensions were introduced in July 2005, they have now really come to the fore with the advent of tax-free super benefits for members over 60 under the new super system.
And in 2008, expect more large super funds to upgrade both their accessibility to members and their product ranges. Increasingly, it will become much easier to make contributions and, once retired, to withdraw benefits.
Welcome to stage two of the super revolution.
21st-January-2008 | 
