Legislation

“I was really worried people would say ‘Is that all?'” the minister said, before explaining that he didn’t want to submit key compliance reforms until they were well-designed and collectively agreed upon.

Diligence and frugality can lead to wonderful retirement outcomes, writes Alteris Financial Group senior adviser Jaxon King. But if the journey to retirement is bleak, it could sap the joy out of reaching the destination.

Higher mandatory contributions and increased pension assets helped Australia improve on its 2022 score in Mercer annual index, and move up a spot in the 47-country ranking. Yet the research cited room for improvement.

Concerned by collapses of crypto platforms both here and abroad, the government has put forward a plan to bring digital asset platforms into the Australian Financial Services Licensing system.

After publishing two separate guides and with the Financial Accountability Regime firmly in mind, the regulator was scathing of licensees’ collective remediation processes when it released findings of a recent industry review.

Australians are retiring much later and with more in their retirement coffers than ever before, according to the ABS, with a confluence of factors behind the trend.

The idea that superannuation tax concessions are costing the government more than the Age Pension is based on bad analysis, according to Mercer, which found that concessions will actually save taxpayers in the long run.

An approved degree doesn’t necessarily make for a better adviser, but if the government wants to get the experienced pathway legislation right it must disclose which pathway an adviser took to accreditation.

While the need for retirement income solutions is great enough to be mandated in some corners, the local annuity market remains a tough nut to crack. So Generation Life has reached out to advisers and a host of others for input into its product offerings.

The Financial Services Council commissioned the Retirement Income Policy Roadmap to help the superannuation system put greater emphasis on the drawdown phase. Industry leaders say the biggest hurdle is a deeply entrenched fear of running out of money.

If super funds can’t implement the retirement income covenant’s mandate to provide retirement guidance, the review lead pointed out, how are they going to handle the responsibility of saving financial advice?

The minister is putting his financial advice eggs in the superannuation basket, with dramatic changes to the existing intrafund advice models being considered. “I don’t think fiddling with intrafund advice is going to get us where we need to be,” he said.