In this guide
Government releases consultation papers on retirement
The Federal Government has released two consultation papers on key planks of its retirement phase reforms and is asking for feedback.
The industry has until 18 September to make submissions on the Guidance on best practice principles for superannuation retirement income solutions paper and until 5 September to make submissions on the Retirement Reporting Framework: Increasing transparency for members paper.
“These reforms are all about ensuring there is as much of a policy and product focus on the retirement phase as there is on the accumulation phase,” treasurer Jim Chalmers and assistant treasurer and minister for financial services Daniel Mulino said in a joint statement.
The Financial Services Council (FSC) said the two papers were important steps but urged the government to ensure that individual outcomes remain the focus of national retirement policy.
“No two people’s retirements are the same and should not be treated as such by the government or superannuation funds. Retirement policy should focus on ensuring that people are given the tools to make decisions that steer them towards the kind of retirement that they want. This includes access to guidance, financial advice and a range of products to help shape their futures,” FSC chief executive officer Blake Briggs said.
In the consultation papers, the government says that the Retirement Reporting Framework will require trustees to report annually on a “series of indicators on their products, services and offerings, as well as metrics on their members’ behaviour, to understand how trustees are driving improved retirement outcomes.”
“Performance testing of retirement products would lead to adverse outcomes, given that retirement is personal and should not be treated uniformly,” Briggs said.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.