IFSA supports government pension review
The Investment and Financial Services Association (IFSA) has supported the Rudd Government’s decision to prioritise a review of the superannuation and retirement income system as “sound public policy”.
“The age pension plays an important role in delivering a basic retirement income to Australians, but it is the superannuation system which holds the key to improving the quality of life of Australians retiring in the future and improving the long-term fiscal sustainability of the Australian Government,” said IFSA chief executive Richard Gilbert.
The review panel should investigate legislative and regulatory barriers to innovative retirement income products being offered to retirees to insure themselves against market risk, Gilbert said.
A priority should be helping the 2.4 million Australians who receive little or no benefit from the tax rate applied to their compulsory super contributions, Gilbert said.
The Government could rebate super contributions tax that is paid through low-income earners, he added.
“While population ageing is a slow process, many of the policy changes to address this challenge will take time to have some effect. Steps therefore need to be taken as soon as possible to address challenges that we will face in 20 to 30 years time,” Gilbert said.
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