The superannuation industry has come out in support of government reforms to curb "excessive" termination payments for company executives.

The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) chief executive Fiona Reynolds said while this issue is far from new, the global financial crisis had highlighted the extent of the problem in Australia and globally.

"We hope that the announcement made by the government will have bipartisan support so that we can finally see some meaningful and long overdue change," Reynolds said.

This was echoed by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) chief executive Pauline Vamos.

"It seems that people are getting paid for not delivering and that has to change," Vamos said.

"We are supportive of the review, as directors of these companies need to be accountable in monitoring their chief executives and the performance of their chief executives."

Vamos said super funds can contribute to the debate as they were "governance experts".

Reynolds also encouraged superannuation funds to be more actively involved in voting their proxies.

"No matter how many legislative changes are made, it is important to remember that unlike in other countries there is no legislation that makes it compulsory for superannuation funds to vote on these issues," Reynolds said.

Yesterday, the government announced reforms will be put in place so that shareholder approval will now be required for termination payments of more than one year's average base salary.

The government has also referred the issue to the Productivity Commission, with a report due within nine months.