“Almost there”: Just three steps to strengthen the Your Future, Your Super reforms
Super Consumers Australia calls on Parliament to take three steps to strengthen Your Future, Your Super reforms, and pass the comprehensive legislation as a priority.
The Your Future, Your Super reforms before Parliament will significantly boost the outcomes for consumers, but more needs to be done to ensure the legislation is watertight. Super Consumers Australia says the legislation can be improved with three easy steps:
- Remove or reassign the Ministerial express power to prohibit expenditure.
- Make sure APRA has the toolkit to ensure consumers don’t languish in funds that harm their financial security in retirement.
- Fix laggard default insurance funds with occupational exclusions or restrictions so we don’t have more carve outs.
“We’re almost there. These fixes will drive super funds to provide better quality insurance products, increase probity in Government processes, and place greater scrutiny on funds by holding underperformers to account,” says Super Consumers director Xavier O’Halloran.
“It has been disappointing to see industry lobby groups attempt to delay or water down the legislation because the problems they’ve identified are totally within the industry’s power to control,” Mr O’Halloran says.
“Industry continues to argue for stapling and transparency carve-outs that don’t address the underlying issue of inappropriate default insurance and poor fund performance. These carve outs will be inefficient, continue to embed fee sucking multiple accounts and will do nothing to ensure people end up in good funds.”
“We shouldn’t let the deficiencies of super funds hold back positive consumer reform. It’s time to end the delay and get on with putting the feet of underperforming super funds to the fire, and fix default insurance”.