Actuaries Institute warns on risks of ‘super tinkering'
The Actuaries Institute has called on the government to put an end to its "short-term tinkering" with superannuation in its submission to the Financial System Inquiry.
In the submission, the Actuaries Institute recommended the government enshrine in legislation the objectives of superannuation.
“A coherent overarching framework will allow development of an efficient long-term retirement incomes strategy and reduce the incidence of short-term policy changes,” said Actuaries Institute president Estelle Pearson.
“Constant short-term change and tinkering involves a significant and perhaps unnecessary cost for the industry and consumers to bear,” she said.
The Actuaries Institute submission also highlighted that 60 per cent of current superannuation assets are held by those over the age of 50, many of whom will enter into the pension phase over the next 20 years.
The Institute further highlighted that the size of the system and its “impact on the wider economy” as the population ages and accumulation starts require “careful policy planning”.
“Our own research, which will be released in April [2015], shows that while the superannuation system is maturing, it will not deliver more than a moderate standard of living for many retirees, particularly given increased life expectancy,” the submission said.
“Many of these people have not had a full career in which they could benefit from the current nine per cent superannuation guarantee.”
