Changes to the retirement phase of our superannuation system will help ensure older Australians can enjoy their retirement with dignity, COTA Australia says.
The Federal Treasurer today announced a raft of reforms which the government says will help improve the quality and transparency of superannuation.
Measures such as improving resources on Moneysmart, introducing new reporting frameworks to make superannuation easier to understand and more transparent, creating better innovative retirement products, and introducing a new set of best practice principles for the super industry are all set to be introduced.
Chief Executive Officer of COTA Australia - the leading advocacy organisation for older people - Patricia Sparrow said that Australians deserve to be able to have a dignified retirement and changes to ensure the information they get in retirement is transparent and reliable are crucial.
"These changes are about ensuring that after saving our whole lives for our retirement, Australians are able to live the life in retirement that they want and deserve to," Ms Sparrow said.
"It's really hard for people to know what to do in planning for, and managing, the retirement phase of our lives. The system is complex to navigate and overwhelming for many people. It's important we change that, and these measures are a good step towards making that easier for us all.
"We've seen measures introduced over the years to improve the way we save for retirement, but now we're finally seeing some improvements to the way people are able to manage their superannuation in retirement.
"Our superannuation system is designed to ensure Australians can have a dignified retirement, but the reality is that for too long it hasn't been a focus and has felt too complex and difficult to navigate for many people. "As many more Australians head into retirement having a clear, fair, easy-to-navigate super system has never been more important."
Ms Sparrow said it is important that consultation occurs with people who are planning for retirement, as well as those who are already living their retirement, to ensure the changes work for everyone. "We stand ready to support Government engage with both groups of super members."
"We're looking forward to working with the government on the detail of the reforms announced today, but it's clear that anything that improves transparency and provides people with reliable information on how they can make their superannuation work best for them is a good thing."
"Today's announcement is a solid downpayment on improving retirement, and over time we need to continue working towards an easy to understand comparison tool to help people compare different retirement options."
"Australia's superannuation is quite rightly the envy of much of the world, but there's still to do. We welcome the Federal Government's commitment to reforming superannuation and specifically giving a much needed focus to supporting people in retirement."
