Inflation and superannuation

August 3, 2026

During my electrical apprenticeship the then premier of South Australia made Superannuation available to all government employees. I was fortunate enough to join the SA Government Super scheme and for that I will be forever great full to Don Dunstan the Premier and Bob Butters my tradesman. Don for making the scheme available to everyone and Bob for nagging me to join. At the time of retirement the shop floor thinking was take the majority as cash but leave enough behind to qualify for the pension. My State Super financial adviser suggested no one in their right mind would expose themselves to Centrelink and I thank him.

I am and will always be a great believer in our Super scheme, as imperfect as it is. I do however acknowledge how inflationary it is and like so many of our public institutions in need of reviewing and updating, starting with alining all superannuation schemes. By that I mean all the conditions should be the same including for our politicians, and should be taken as a pension and start payout at the national age of retirement 67, and should be protected from idealistic opposition forces / political parties.