The federal government is looking to lift Australia's compulsory employer superannuation contributions from its current level of nine percent to 12 percent by year 2020, with part of the funds to be culled from the revenues set to be delivered by the planned minerals resource rent tax.

Superannuation Minister Bill Shorten said on Tuesday that the country needs to work harder on improving its pension system in order to surpass the retirement benefits offered in countries such as Brazil, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Speaking at the Australian Workers Union (AWU) conference held at the Gold Coast, Shorten thanked his audience for their cooperation in advancing the programs of the Labor-led government but he reminded them that more work needs to be done.

He stressed that cooperation coming from the workers ranks would be crucial in further improving the state of Australia's retirement incomes as he underscored that "the adequacy of the retirement income of Australia's workers is not good enough."

In advancing its program of boosting the retirement package of the Australian workers, the federal government said that approving the proposed mining tax, which would fund a big chunk of the superannuation system, would be a crucial component of its success.

And that success, according to Shorten, would greatly hinge on the amount of support that union workers are ready to share with the government as he stressed that "adequate retirement income is a cause worth fighting for."

However, the Coalition appears not convinced on the viability of the proposed hikes on superannuation contributions, with opposition superannuation spokesman Mathias Cormann raising his concerns that the measures could hit hard low and middle-income wage earners.

Still, the Association of Superannuation Funds is bent on throwing its support on the government proposal as it stressed that "the compulsory guarantee needs to be lifted to help close the gap between those with adequate retirement savings and those without."

Association head Pauline Vamos said that raising the guarantee is not expected to bring in negative impacts on Australian business operations, citing that "the last time the superannuation guarantee was increased," no jobs were lost and no businesses were shut down.