Agnew, Julie. “Australia's retirement system”. Issue in Brief 13-5, Chestnut Hill, Mass.: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, April 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:104693.
Abstract
The brief's key findings are: (1) Australia's retirement system has two key components: a means-tested government benefit and a mandatory savings account financed by employers. (2) The government benefit provides a basic income, and about three quarters of retirees qualify. (3) The savings accounts require employer contributions of 9 percent of pay for each worker, rising to 12 percent by 2020, and workers choose how to invest. (4) By making savings mandatory, Australia has solved the pension coverage problem, and the system will provide substantial benefits once it fully matures. (5) Key concerns remain, such as incentives to spend down savings to get a higher government benefit and low levels of annuitization.
