Super has become Canberra's favourite topic — and Noel Whittaker thinks that should give anyone near retirement pause.
In the September issue of his newsletter, Noel Whittaker weighs into a fight that has been building all year: what superannuation is actually for. The Prime Minister has described super funds as "a national asset" that could deliver better returns for the nation. Pauline Hanson counters that "It is their money". Opposition Leader Angus Taylor says people should be able to do what they like with it.
Noel's answer goes back to the beginning. Paul Keating's idea was money put away for retirement, professionally managed and protected until preservation age — the age at which you are first allowed to touch it. It was, as Noel puts it, a simple idea whose impact has been profound. And the protection was the point. Money you cannot get at is money that compounds.
He runs the numbers on what that protection is worth. A 40-year-old earning $55,000, with $100,000 already in super, could be sitting on roughly $1.3 million by 65 on employer contributions and compound growth alone. No heroics, no clever investing — just time and a locked door.
That is why the early-access proposals give him pause. One would let first home buyers withdraw up to 40 per cent of their super, capped at $50,000, to be repaid when the property is sold. The existing First Home Super Saver Scheme already allows voluntary contributions of up to $15,000 a year, with $50,000 plus earnings available towards a deposit.
If you are between 40 and 60, this is not an abstract argument. Your last two decades of work are when compounding does the heavy lifting, and every rule that makes super easier to spend early makes the balance you finish with smaller.
Superannuation has suddenly become everybody's favourite pot of money.
Read the full article: Superannuation Under Attack — Noel Whittaker, Noel News, September 2026.
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