Government kicks off retirement income review
The government has released the terms of reference for its review of the retirement income system, with the chair of the SMSF Association one of three panellists picked to lead the inquiry.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced on Friday that the review would “establish a fact base” for the current retirement system and allow better understanding of how the three main retirement pillars — super, the aged pension and private savings — interacted with each other to deliver outcomes for retirees.
“The Coalition government is continuing to ensure Australians are well supported during their retirement by today commissioning an independent review of the retirement income system,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“The review will cover the current state of the system and how it will perform in the future as Australians live longer and the population ages.”
Alongside SMSFA chair Deborah Ralston, former Treasury official Michael Callaghan and Future Fund and Scentre Group board member Carolyn Kay will lead the review.
The panel is expected to release a consultation paper in November, with the final report to be released in June next year.
Further details released from Treasury around the terms of reference state the inquiry will focus particularly on whether the current system is delivering on its aim to fund an adequate retirement for the majority of Australians that is sustainable from a public spending perspective.
“It is important that the system allows Australians to achieve adequate retirement incomes, is fiscally sustainable and provides appropriate incentives for self-provision in retirement,” Treasury stated.
“The retirement income review will identify how the retirement system supports Australians in retirement, the role of each pillar in supporting Australians through retirement, distributional impacts across the population and over time, and the impact of current policy settings on public finances.”
