I'd be as happy as a pig in poop if you could withdraw amounts in excess of the $1.6M cap if you wanted to.
I'd take it one step further and allow people with balances above that be allowed to opt out of the superannuation system and take the money that their employer pays as salary or wages if one so chooses.
There also needs to be access to superannuation for those that can afford to and wish to, to retire early using their super. Even as an annuity or pension form. Example if I was 52 and had $2M in super, my preservation age is 60 so I'd have to wait until 60 to access my super. I should, if I choose to, be allowed to retire early. A draw down of 5% gives me $100k a year (taxable) to live on. More than enough to live on.
The Transition to retirement option used to be available for those aged 55 and above, now that to is 60 for anyone born after 1st July 1964.
They say they removed it because too many were salary sacrificing into their superfunds and withdrawing straight away from their superfunds and not actually reducing the hours worked. Income Tax receipts to the government dropped so it was moved up to 60yo before you could TTR.
However they also introduced tighter contribution limits which in effect neutralised how much you could now salary sacrifice anyway. The TTR also had to generous a withdrawal limit available, up to 10% of your balance which meant by the age of 60 you could have drawn down 50% of your balance.
Being 51 and not able to touch my superannuation and retire early irks me no end. It is supposedly my money and meant for retirement but now I can afford to retire, I am not allowed to have my money.
I fear by the time I reach 60 the rules would have changed a few times, later age required to access super being one and limits on lump sum withdrawal amounts too leading to the likely scenario that super will only be allowed to be accessed via an annuity or super pension account.
