The Gillard government's proposed overhaul of the super system is purely about winning an election and will penalise super fund members, according to accounting group Grant Thornton Wealth Advisory Services.
Grant Thornton partner Dennis Eagles said the reforms "will be a slap in the face for many who have been saving for their retirement under the current rules", and there is a strong view the move is more about winning an election than long term reform.
"Unfortunately, the reforms do little more than add further complexity to the system, and increase the fear and uncertainty that most individuals have in respect of their retirement savings," Mr Eagles said.
"The superannuation industry will be significantly impacted with the costs of substantial changes to their systems, when they are already confronting the substantial costs of transition to MySuper and other regulatory reforms - costs that are being borne by all members."
He described the proposal to cap the tax-free earnings of retirees' income streams at $100,000 per year, with 15 per cent tax to apply thereafter, as the major revenue raising aspect of the proposals.
"The government is targeting retirees who have already accumulated significant wealth within superannuation for their retirement and, under the guise of fairness, are penalising them for self-funding their own retirement," he said.
The proposals were also attacked - not surprisingly - by Shadow Assistant Treasurer Mathias Cormann, who has repeatedly called on the government to provide some certainty around its superannuation policy.
"The almost $1 billion of tax hikes are the beginning and not the end of Labor's assault on superannuation," Mr Cormann said in a statement.
"These are further complex changes to an already complex system and add to the 10 rounds and more than $8 billion of superannuation tax grabs already initiated by Labor."
He called on Treasurer Wayne Swan to introduce the reforms in Budget week and commit to having them passed by the September election.
