Govt introduces auto-consolidation Bill
The Government has introduced legislation into Parliament that will require superannuation fund trustees to consolidate multiple accounts that are held by the same member.
The changes included in the Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2013 Measures No. 2) Bill 2013, introduced by Minster for Financial Services and Superannuation Bill Shorten, require trustees to implement procedures to consolidate multiple accounts "where it is in the member's best interest".
"At June 2012 there were almost 32 million superannuation accounts in Australia, which is almost three accounts for every worker," said Shorten in a statement.
"Australians' retirement savings can be eroded by multiple administration fees and insurance premiums that are charged for unnecessary accounts. Unnecessary accounts also add to fund administration costs," he added.
Defined benefit interest accounts, accounts supporting an income stream and First Home Saver Accounts will all be exempt from the requirement to consolidate multiple accounts held by the same person, said Shorten.
"The measure will commence on 1 July 2013 with the first round of consolidation to occur by 30 June 2014. This will apply regardless of the balances of the accounts concerned," he said.
Shorten noted that the bill implements the Cooper Review recommendation to permit fund trustees to auto-consolidate multiple accumulation accounts.
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