Under-18 workers in Australia could have $10,000 more in savings at retirement if a rule that currently denies compulsory super contributions unless they work more than 30 hours a week is abolished.
According to a new report by Super Members Council, nine in 10 teenagers do not reach the 30-hour work threshold each week and therefore do not receive super guarantee.
The report’s analysis has found:
- A typical teenager who works for at least two years would benefit from almost $2,200 in their super by the time they are 18 years old.
- This would mean they have $10,000 more (in today’s dollars) when they reach retirement age.
- About 505,000 under-18 workers were excluded from being paid super in 2024-25, missing out on an average of $730 each in super contributions – a combined total of $368 million.
The superannuation peak body is advocating for the 30-hour threshold to be abolished. Its member fund REST also publicly backed the call on Tuesday.
It came after a bill that will guarantee super payments during the government-supported paid parental leaves passed the senate in September.
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