Media Release

Mercer Pension Index: Australia’s super system is still strong, but the need for continuous system refinement remains key

Australia’s superannuation system has experienced a slight drop in global rankings, according to the latest Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index (MCGPI) report. Australia now ranks 6th globally, down from 5th place in the previous year, with an overall index score of 76.7. The MCGPI evaluates pension systems based on three key factors: adequacy, sustainability, and integrity. Despite Australia maintaining a high score in integrity, concerns around adequacy and sustainability have affected the overall ranking.

ASFA CEO, Mary Delahunty commented on the results, stating, “Australia’s superannuation system remains robust and an envy of the world, but the latest ranking underscores the need for continuous refinement. We must continue to address gaps in retirement income adequacy, particularly in the face of increasing life expectancies and economic pressures.”

The report suggests that introducing a government superannuation contribution for primary carers of young children could help improve Australia’s adequacy score.

“Valuing caring roles is something that everyone in this country should absolutely turn their attention to. ASFA is committed to working alongside policymakers to ensure the system adapts to these challenges, securing retirement outcomes for future generations,” Delahunty affirmed.

ASFA noted that recent legislation providing superannuation payments on government-provided paid parental leave represented good progress on that measure. ASFA has also consistently advocated for an expansion of the Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset, which would improve the adequacy of superannuation for many low income and part-time workers.

While the report suggests a compulsory income stream for retirees, ASFA highlights the importance of member choice and the need for deeper consultation. “While such a move might positively impact Australia’s ranking in the index, it’s essential that we thoroughly evaluate the potential implications for Australian retirees. Flexibility in the system remains key, and we believe members should be empowered to make the right decisions for their circumstances, with the support and advice of their super funds,” said Delahunty.

“As always, we must ensure that any proposed changes to the system prioritise the best outcomes for all Australians to achieve a comfortable and dignified retirement,” Delahunty concluded.

 

 



For further information, please contact ASFA Media team: 0451 949 300

About ASFA

ASFA, the voice of super, is the peak policy, research and advocacy body for Australia’s superannuation industry. It is a not-for-profit, sector-neutral, and non-party political, national organisation. ASFA’s mission is to continuously improve the superannuation system, so all Australians can enjoy a comfortable and dignified retirement.

Amy C. Edmondson

Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management, Harvard Business School

Sessions

Keynote 8 – Navigating the energy transition: opportunities, investor strategies and policy needs

Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, a chair established to support the study of human interactions that lead to the creation of successful enterprises that contribute to the betterment of society.

Edmondson has been recognized by the biannual Thinkers50 global ranking of management thinkers since 2011, and most recently was ranked #1 in 2021 and 2023; she also received that organization’s Breakthrough Idea Award in 2019, and Talent Award in 2017.  She studies teaming, psychological safety, and organisational learning, and her articles have been published in numerous academic and management outlets, including Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Harvard Business Review and California Management Review. Her 2019 book, The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation and Growth (Wiley), has been translated into 15 languages. Her prior books – Teaming: How organizations learn, innovate and compete in the knowledge economy (Jossey-Bass, 2012), Teaming to Innovate (Jossey-Bass, 2013) and Extreme Teaming (Emerald, 2017) – explore teamwork in dynamic organisational environments. In Building the future: Big teaming for audacious innovation (Berrett-Koehler, 2016), she examines the challenges and opportunities of teaming across industries to build smart cities. 

Edmondson’s latest book, Right Kind of Wrong (Atria), builds on her prior work on psychological safety and teaming to provide a framework for thinking about, discussing, and practicing the science of failing well. First published in the US and the UK in September, 2023, the book is due to be translated into 24 additional languages, and was selected for the Financial Times and Schroders Best Business Book of the Year award.

Before her academic career, she was Director of Research at Pecos River Learning Centers, where she worked on transformational change in large companies. In the early 1980s, she worked as Chief Engineer for architect/inventor Buckminster Fuller, and her book A Fuller Explanation: The Synergetic Geometry of R. Buckminster Fuller (Birkauser Boston, 1987) clarifies Fuller’s mathematical contributions for a non-technical audience. Edmondson received her PhD in organisational behavior, AM in psychology, and AB in engineering and design from Harvard University.

 

Daniel Mulino MP

Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services

Sessions

Keynote 8 – Navigating the energy transition: opportunities, investor strategies and policy needs

Born in Brindisi, Italy, Daniel was a young child when he moved with his family to Australia. He grew up in Canberra and completed his first degrees – arts and law – at the ANU. He then completed a Master of Economics (University of Sydney) and a PhD in economics from Yale.

He lectured at Monash University, was an economic adviser in the Gillard government and was a Victorian MP from 2014 to 2018. As Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer of Victoria, Daniel helped deliver major infrastructure projects and developed innovative financing structures for community projects.

In 2018 he was preselected for the new federal seat of Fraser and became its first MP at the 2019 election, re-elected in 2022 and 2025. From 2022 to 2025, Daniel was chair of the House of Representatives’ Standing Economics Committee in which he chaired inquiries; economic dynamism, competition and business formation and insurers’ responses to 2022 major floods claims.

In 2025, he became the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services.

In August 2022, Daniel published ‘Safety Net: The Future of Welfare in Australia’, which aims to explore the ways in which an insurance approach can improve the effectiveness of government service delivery.