In a submission to Treasury on the objective of super, released on Friday, the Actuaries Institute acknowledged the Financial System Inquiry objective that the superannuation system should provide income in retirement.
However, the submission went further than that, calling on the government to “provide objectives for the whole retirement system including the age pension and superannuation guarantee, with complementary objectives for each component”.
Actuaries Institute president Lindsay Smartt said most Australians would not have enough superannuation to live comfortably in retirement, and as a result would still require age pension payments from age 67 onwards.
“One of the objectives of superannuation should therefore be to supplement the age pension in order to provide a combined level of income that allows Australians to live a dignified retirement,” Mr Smartt said in a statement.
He added that the objectives for the whole retirement system should take into account the need for flexibility due to different retirement needs, fiscal sustainability, adequacy, poverty alleviation, equity and fairness
“The Actuaries Institute believes that an equitable and sustainable retirement income system that efficiently delivers on its objectives will not need the ongoing tinkering that has been a feature of the superannuation system for decades,” Mr Smartt said.
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