The Super Members Council (SMC) welcomes today's release of two major consultation papers on how to help Australians to make the most of their super in retirement.
The consultation papers propose a set of best practice principles for retirement income solutions and a new retirement reporting framework.
SMC has engaged proactively with Government on these important pieces of policy thinking to further strengthen the retirement phase of Australia's super system.
The consultations accelerate work that is already well advanced by profit-for-member funds to deliver a world class retirement income system for their 12 million members.
Well-designed best practice principles and new transparency measures will help ensure retirees have access to great retirement solutions and exceptional service.
As 2.5 million Australians prepare to retire in the next decade, the Government's reforms aim to strengthen online information and give people more options for how they take their retirement income.
But urgent reforms to widen access to simple financial advice from their super fund will be the gamechanger.
Access to timely information, guidance and affordable financial advice is the missing piece in the retirement puzzle, and the promised financial advice reforms must be urgently legislated.
This year, SMC will release three major reports into Australia's retirement system. This report series is the first comprehensive study on the impact and effectiveness of Australia's retirement income system since the Government's Retirement Income Review in 2020.
That work will track the dynamics at play in our retirement system and identify opportunities to make it even fairer for Australians with lower levels of income and wealth.
With the Super Guarantee reaching 12%, and a silver tsunami of older Australians headed for retirement, Super Members Council CEO Misha Schubert says now is the time to focus on making super in retirement even simpler and easier to navigate.
"We welcome the opportunity to continue to work with the Government on a thoughtful approach to ensure millions of everyday Australians have access to simple, high-quality options that strengthen people's confidence to draw down and spend their super as income in retirement," she said.
"Hardworking Australians want retirement to be simple, easy and flexible. They want to be able to make the most of their super in retirement – and have access to information and support to choose the best retirement product for them."
The opinions above are those of the author in their capacity as spokesperson for Super Members Council (SMC). SMC, the authors and all other persons involved in the preparation of this information are thereby not giving legal, financial or professional advice for individual persons or organisations.
