Well-off Australians could be forced to put aside a slice of their retirement nest-eggs to pay for their own aged care.
In June, Aged Care Minister Anika Wells announced a task force would be set up to advise the federal government on how to get more funding into aged care.
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones on Thursday said the task force would consider a range of funding options, but the nation needed to look at the possibility of some people being made to "ring-fence" part of their superannuation to fund their care.
"It strikes me as odd in a system which is about retirement income ... that a third of the value of cheques that superannuation funds are writing at the moment are bequests," he said.
"It's not the purpose of superannuation to have a tax-preferred estate planning mechanism, it's about providing for people at the end stages and in their retirement."
But Industry Super Australia chief executive Bernie Dean said ring-fencing a portion of super was not the answer for aged-care funding.
“Commandeering a portion of super guarantee for aged care is unfair to those who won’t need it and diminishes the ability for many Australians to save for other things they need in retirement," he told AAP.
“It would leave retirees and the taxpayer worse off."
Aged and Community Care Providers Association chief executive Tom Symondson said a key problem was a lack of investment in the sector when many centres needed refurbishment.
Greens aged care spokeswoman Janet Rice said a user-pays system would result in inequality for people who cannot afford to pay for care.
"We think that the overall approach of paying through our taxes for adequate aged care for everyone is a much better approach to take," she said.
Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley said she did not think taxes were the answer to funding the aged-care system.
"Suggestions that involve new taxes and new levies are always going to be of concern to us," she said.
"We've got a government who said 'no new taxes' when they came into government.
"But we do want to work constructively with the government for sustainable solutions in aged care, because it's just too important to get wrong."
The task force, which includes economic, finance, public policy, First Nations and consumer advocacy representatives, is preparing an interim report by October.
Its final report is due to be handed to the government in December.
