The federal government has moved to end damaging pre-budget speculation over the nation's retirement nest eggs, announcing a series of measures to promote the sustainability of the superannuation system.
Past and present Labor stalwarts were quick to support the changes that will potentially hit future super earnings of an estimated 16,000 people.
The coalition, however, said it was a raid on people's retirement funds, while the Australian Greens said the measures don't go far enough.
A key proposal announced by Treasurer Wayne Swan on Friday - six weeks before his pre-election budget - is for super pension and annuity earnings greater than $100,000 to be taxed at 15 per cent, instead of being tax free.
This impacts those with superannuation assets worth more than about $2 million.
Mr Swan argued a government-funded tax break was flowing to a select few, giving "excessive support to people with millions in their superannuation account".
"Why should someone who has millions of dollars in a superannuation account pay no tax on their earnings, while someone on $80,000 a year pays a marginal tax rate of 37 cents in the dollar on every additional dollar they earn?" he said.
Superannuation Minister Bill Shorten said the reforms would not impact most retirees.
"All the scare stuff you heard, it's wrong," he told reporters in Canberra.
But Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said he would "fight ferociously" changes that would play havoc with people's retirement plans.
"Every time a government raids people's funds, there are shades of Cyprus about it," he told a community roundtable in Melbourne.
Greens leader Christine Milne said the changes didn't go far enough.
"Labor is clearly not serious about facing the revenue challenge Australia confronts," she said in a statement.
Former Labor leader Paul Keating, the founder of Australia's superannuation system, said the changes struck a reasonable balance and went some way to correcting "unsustainably generous" tax measures introduced by former Liberal treasurer Peter Costello.
Federal backbencher Simon Crean, who was recently sacked from the ministry by Prime Minister Julia Gillard for his involvement in an aborted leadership coup, gave the new proposals his blessing after earlier expressing concern that changes could be retrospective.
"I do not have a problem with those announced changes," he told reporters in Melbourne.
"They are fair, they are reasonable, but the most important thing is, it is building on the great Labor legacy which has seen superannuation available for all members of the workforce."
Retirement groups were relieved the changes were not as severe as feared.
Financial associations, while not happy with the new tax treatment, said they understood the changes were needed to support the sustainability of the super system.
Labor's other changes include the establishment of a council of superannuation custodians - made up of community, industry and regulatory representatives - to ensure any future super changes are consistent with an agreed charter.
"We want to take superannuation above politics," Mr Shorten said.
extreme intelligence to extreme stupidity 
