The peak body for the superannuation industry has welcomed today's announcement by the Government outlining the form of the Stronger Super reforms.
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) says the reforms will enable the industry to better respond to the changing needs of employees and employers.
"These are long-awaited reforms which touch upon all aspects of the superannuation industry and should deliver enormous benefits to consumers, employers and the industry," said Pauline Vamos, chief executive of ASFA.
"The advent of MySuper and increased 'back-of-house' efficiencies, through SuperStream will deliver better retirement outcomes for most Australians.
"The reforms will mean the industry can better cope with the growing trend of people changing jobs on a regular basis.
"They also mean we can respond to the growing desire of people to tailor their superannuation and insurance to their individual needs.
"As an industry, we will deliver more transparent information about how performance is achieved and what members are paying for.
"Employees will be able to see information about their super on their payslips, and employers will be better able to deal with multiple super providers on a cost-effective basis.
"In combination with the FoFA [Future of Financial Advice] reforms, Stronger Super should enable more Australians to access financial advice.
"These reforms protect the financial interests of those who are not engaged with their super as well as respond to the overarching need for the industry to be set up to deal with the growing pool of retirees.
"There is a lot of work still to be done (and we look forward to reviewing the draft legislation and APRA standards), however, as an industry we now have some much-needed certainty."
For further information please contact:
Pauline Vamos, chief executive officer, 0433 169 342
Rebecca Glenn, GM marketing and communications, (02) 8079 0825 or 0416 170 439
Megan McDougall, communications and media co-ordinator, (02) 8079 0849
About ASFA - the voice of super
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia is the peak policy, research and advocacy body for Australia's superannuation and retirement industry. It is a not-for-profit, non-party political and non-sector aligned association representing fund members, corporate, industry, retail and public-sector funds, as well as service providers to the superannuation sector.