In this edition:
Government and regulator interaction
The Policy team has been speaking to Treasury and APRA about the impact of Omicron on superannuation funds due to reduced staff levels.
Research and submissions
A submission was made to the Attorney General’s Department in response to the Online Privacy Bill. The submission called for a carve-out for superannuation funds from the requirements identified in the Bill as otherwise it could result in superannuation funds being in breach of their regulatory requirements and not pragmatic when considering the relationship between trustees of superannuation funds and third-party administrators.
Media
ASFA was quoted in an article in Money Management talking about young members and their need to consider investment risk and time frame when considering the allocation to growth assets.
ASFA was also quoted in The Australian showing support for changes to the Pension Loan Scheme as a means of lifting the standard of living for retirees, for those who choose to use it.
An article in Canstar about women and super referenced the ASFA Retirement Standard in relation to the saved amount needed for a comfortable retirement. The ASFA Retirement Standard was also mentioned in an article in the New Daily.
ASFA was also featured in a Canstar article talking about superannuation changes to expect in 2022.
Events and Learning
The ASFA Events and Learning team have several sessions lined up over the next few weeks to make sure you are across the key issues affecting superannuation at this time.
The Communicating Value webinar on 9 February is designed to help funds successfully negotiate and balance investing in alternative assets with the associated scrutiny from regulators around valuation methodologies and transparency.
Join us for a Super Industry Update or learn more about the new requirements under RG 271 with the member focused complaints handling program.
We will also be delivering the following learning workshops in February:
