Jeremy Cooper says new laws forcing funds to help members plan for retirement will only be successful if the complex laws governing financial advice are overhauled.
Jeremy Cooper, a former deputy chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission who reviewed the superannuation system for the Gillard government, says new legislation forcing funds to help members plan for retirement will only be successful if the complex laws governing financial advice are overhauled.took effect on Friday and requires superannuation trustees to publish and implement a strategy to mitigate “longevity risk” – the prospect of outliving their retirement savings.
Mr Cooper, who commenced three months of gardening leave this week after stepping down as chairman of retirement income at ASX-listed Challenger, said he was “delighted” to see the policy take force, having championed it for decades.AFR Weekend.“And it’s not a moment too soon in terms of the scale of people’s balances and the number of people going into retirement.”
But Mr Cooper also said that in order for the funds’ new retirement income strategies to be successful, these products would need to be brought to the attention of members – and that risked triggering Australia’s strict financial advice laws.Under the law, only licensed financial advisers can recommend financial products such as annuities to consumers.
Millions of Baby Boomers are expected to retire in the next decade and only a fraction have access to quality, independent financial advice. About 10 per cent of the population is professionally advised,Most funds do offer so-called intra-fund advice, which is restricted to superannuation-specific topics and paid for by the collective membership. But Mr Cooper said many were hesitant to branch into more comprehensive forms of personal advice because of risk of breaking the law.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Super funds behind the ball on their new duty to retireesIf done well, the so-called Retirement Income Covenant could improve the lives of millions of Australians. But that’s a big if.
Read more »
‘Not pretty’: Super funds lose money for only the fifth time in 30 yearsSuperannuation sector analysts project losses of up to 10 per cent after a wild 12 months of inflation-fuelled panic across financial markets.
Read more »
‘Not pretty’: Super funds lose money for only the fifth time in 30 yearsSuperannuation sector analysts project losses of up to 10 per cent after a wild 12 months of inflation-fuelled panic across financial markets.
Read more »
John Barilaro withdraws from $500,000 New York-based trade jobFormer NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro has stepped aside from his new trade role based in New York after intense scrutiny over the appointment:
Read more »