One Nation leader Pauline Hanson reignited the debate surrounding superannuation when she labelled the scheme "broken" on Sunday.
She called for a relaxation of rules that would allow people to withdraw their retirement savings in times of crisis to help with the cost of living.
Labor capitalised on the debate during Question Time to accuse right-wing parties of threatening to wind back the three-decade-old compulsory superannuation system.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese committed to protect superannuation against any changes put forward by the opposition parties.
"We know that it is at risk because the Liberals, the Nationals and One Nation all want to decimate universal super," Mr Albanese said.
"Not only do they want to drag Australians back to the past, they want to damage their future as well."
Five more ministers answered questions asking about the benefits of superannuation for women, workers, parents and the economy.
One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce said his party was still working out the detail of its policy, but superannuation funds should be available to people if they were at risk of becoming homeless.
"There are people living in their cars who've got a job," he told reporters.
"You can say, 'I'm going to get access to this because it's my money'."
But Nationals leader Matt Canavan questioned whether Senator Hanson thought the policy through before she spoke a day earlier.
"You can see that this morning because the policy didn't seem to last to the next One Nation meeting, with Barnaby Joyce already walking it back this morning," he said.
"There are already provisions in place to allow people to access their superannuation if they're in true financial hardship or need for a particular medical needs."
Superannuation can be accessed early for a variety of reasons, including to stop the foreclosure or forced sale of a home.
Only the sum of repayments for one quarter and mortgage interest for one year can be withdrawn from a super account in one 12-month period.
Tax office figures show 67,900 early super releases were approved in 2024/25, amounting to just over $1.4 billion.
The Super Members Council said any move to wind back compulsory retirement savings would make Australians poorer, push more retirees onto the aged pension and drive up future taxes.
The message to all politicians was "don't stuff up our super", council chief executive Misha Schubert said.
Deputy Opposition Leader Jane Hume said maintaining the nation's superannuation system was important.
"We also know that the biggest indicator of economic security in retirement isn't how much superannuation you have, it's whether you own a home," she told News24.
"That's why it's so important that we allow Australians the opportunity to get into a home should they want to buy one."
The coalition took policies of allowing first home buyers to access their superannuation to help fund a deposit to the previous two elections.
Her comments contrasted with earlier comments from frontbench Liberal colleague Andrew Bragg, who described compulsory superannuation as "one of the biggest public policy failures since federation".
The brawl over retirement savings erupted as the major parties attempt to strike a deal on several key pieces of legislation, including cuts to the National Disability Insurance Scheme and gambling rules.
