In this edition:
Government and regulator interaction
ASFA’s Policy Team and members of the Tax Specialist Advisory Committee met with representatives from Treasury and the Board of Taxation to highlight legislative reforms that would remove tax impediments to the consolidation of large APRA-regulated funds. We also highlighted the need for urgent clarification of the impact of the non-arm’s length income and expenditure rules on large APRA-regulated superannuation funds.
Media
The Age featured Dr Martin Fahy commenting on the benefit of the impact of superannuation being paid for those earning less than $450 per month.
The Brisbane times and Money Management referenced Superguru and the Super Balance Detective as useful tools that could be used when working out the amount you need to have a comfortable retirement.
The cost of retirement as measured by the ASFA comfortable standard has increased at the fastest rate in more than a decade. This was featured in several articles over the month, including Adelaide Now, The West Australian, ABC News and the Brisbane Times.
More recently an article in The Australian referenced defending the need for superannuation fund trustees to put aside funds to cover potential fines which are a direct result of the Government introducing additional regulation.
Another article in The Australian featured an interview with the CEO of ASFA, Dr Martin Fahy on the role Australian superannuation funds will play in providing the patient capital to achieve net zero emissions.
Super Review featured ASFA’s support for the introduction of the Retirement Income Covenant into Parliament.
Events and Learning
The ASFA Events and Learning teams have several sessions lined up over the next few weeks to make sure you are across the key issues affecting superannuation at this time.
Join us on 6 December for a new workshop designed to help funds identify and deal with systemic issues arising from complaints. A Super Industry Update will be delivered on 7 December.
We will also be delivering the following learning workshops:
We have two events streaming from the ASFA Studio in December. Communicating value – why it’s important is taking place on 8 December and will help prepare your fund for increased scrutiny on asset valuations. At the APRA Heatmaps Briefing on 17 December you will hear directly from APRA as they discuss the MySuper Heatmap and the new Choice Product Heatmap.