SYDNEY, Nov 8 (Reuters) – The chief of Australia’s biggest pension fund warned against government efforts to tap into retirement savings worldwide as the country looks to fight economic challenges and prepare for a looming global recession.
Australia has the world’s third-largest pension pool, as its superannuation funds have grown to more than $3.3 trillion from $148 billion over the last three decades.
“I’m terrified that governments around the world will say: ‘Oh, we’ve got an economic trauma? Tax the person’s money. We want to build something? Tax the person’s money,'” said Paul Schroder, chief executive of AustralianSuper.
“It’s easy politics, horrible financial thinking. Terrible for society,” Schroder, whose fund manages A$260 billion of the country’s retirement money, added at the AFR Super & Wealth Summit in Sydney.
Australia’s centre-left government has said it plans to scale back tax concessions for pension…
