Peter Lewis dissects a survey which shows some alarming misconceptions about the nature of their own super.

Some recent polling by EMC shows that not only are people underestimating the amount of money they need to retire on, they also have no idea of how much they will have in reality.
However, there is one common factor. Peter Lewis tells 3Q that most people believe their super will not meet their expectations.

It’s increasingly clear that Greece’s woes are partly to blame on its public pension system — over generous, over subscribed and now underfunded.

Like the rest of the western world, Australia also has an ageing population and some sections of the population are reliant on the government pension.

James Coyle from AustralianSuper tells 3Q that our superannuation system keeps our economy strong and individuals protected. Super is not only a tax-effective way to save, it also reduces pressure on government funding because less people are solely reliant on the age pension.

Although our super savings took a beating in the GFC, superannuation savings of $1.3 trillion helped Australia through the GFC via indirect investment to help Australian companies raise equity and lessen dependence on the overseas debt market.

Ged Kearney says the union movement needs to emphasise its achievements rather than letting others focus on the negatives.

As the ACTU Congress meets this week, the HSU East and Craig Thomson affairs continue to dominate the political landscape.

But ACTU President Ged Kearney says Congress will be focusing on the future and the policies which make the work place — and society – fairer.

She tells 3Q that even though union membership has dropped, thousands of people join unions every year. With an increasingly casualised workforce, Kearney says unions are needed more than ever.

Nadine Flood believes the public will experience more delays and long queues because of cuts to government services.

There’s a common misconception that most public servants are Canberra based, well paid and underworked. But two thirds of the public sector actually work outside of the national capital and are on average or below average wages.

CPSU National Secretary Nadine Flood tells 3Q that the public will notice the difference when over 4000 cuts are made to the public sector this year.

Read the CPSU’s round up of the implications the Federal Budget will have on the public sector.

And she says Tony Abbott’s plans to slash the public service would be disastrous.

John Della Bosca was a long-serving NSW Labor minister. He is now national campaign director of Every Australian Counts.

Michael O’Connor is the National Secretary of the CFMEU. Michael has been an outspoken supporter of timber workers, their families and communities and has coordinated a large number of community campaigns in support of employment and resource security for Union members.

Michael O’Connor questions why the national bank took so long to cut rates.

Our economy has had 20 years of growth thanks to our resources boom. But the casualty has been other sectors of the economy, including manufacturing. The CFMEU’s national secretary Michael O’Connor tells 3Q the Reserve Bank waited too long to cut rates and should be cutting more. And he’s not alone in his criticism.

According to him, the Reserve Bank has forgotten its obligation under its Act to maintain full employment in our two-speed economy. And he says mining companies should be more accountable in their engagement with local industry by ensuring access to the huge market for mining services and infrastructure.

With Treasurer Wayne Swan reaching deep to produce his promised Budget surplus, foreign aid has become one of the victims.

The Government’s long standing promise to increase aid will happen but it will be delayed for another year. Currently Australia allocates just 0.35 per cent of National Gross Income — or 35c for every $100. The change means that by 2015-16, it will increase to 50c in every dollar. It’s still a long way from the top global donor, Norway, which gives $1.10 out of every $100 of its national income to the world’s poor.

Tim O’Connor from UNICEF tells 3Q Australia rates poorly compared with the rest of the world, ranking 13th out of 23 OECD nations. The delay in increasing funding has been criticised by aid groups and according to UNICEF it will cost lives.