Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor has voiced his preference for an Americanised superannuation system for Australia.

The ACTU says the Coalition has given its strongest signal yet that it would dismantle and Americanise Australia’s compulsory superannuation system if it were returned to office.

In a speech at Sydney University, Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor stated the Coalition’s ambition included “aligning superannuation with other global retirement schemes – like [America’s] 401k”.

The ACTU condemned the comments as further evidence that the Coalition’s dream of dismantling super is alive and well.

This policy, it said, would lead to the effective dismantling of Australia’s compulsory superannuation system in favour of a voluntary approach to retirement savings, in which “bosses can choose to offer a retirement plan as a work ‘perk’, but they do not have to”.

In the Australian system every worker has a workplace right to superannuation paid on their wages, preserved until retirement. In the United States, 401Ks are optional, not preserved for retirement, often plagued with issues like high fees, low returns, and are regularly subject to misuse by employers using the money for corporate purposes.

ACTU Assistant Secretary Joseph Mitchell said Australia’s superannuation system is consistently rated as one of the best in the world.

“Angus Taylor’s pronouncement he wants Australia’s super system to be Americanised should send shivers down the spines of Aussies.

“Every worker in Australia has the right to be paid superannuation and have that entitlement preserved for retirement.”