The Financial Services Council (FSC) has called for the Government to recognise superannuation with a clear and simple objective.
This would help to set the benchmark for measuring future reform and protect the system from unnecessary tinkering, it said.
It would also provide the basis for reforms such as paying super on paid parental leave, which had been pitched by organisations such as the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST).
Finally, it would give consumers greater confidence about their retirement decisions
Blake Briggs, chief executive of the FSC, said: “The FSC, like our counterparts at other associations, supports the simple objective that focuses on the goal of providing a comfortable standard of living for Australians, that supplements or substitutes the Age Pension.
“Superannuation should have a singular focus on the needs of consumers, not whims of politicians or the industry itself. An objective will help make this clear.
“Once the purpose of the system is enshrined then other reforms will naturally flow.”
The organisation welcomed the Treasurer Jim Chalmers confirming it would be one of his priorities during the Albanese Government.
The Federal Court has ordered AustralianSuper to pay $27 million for failures to address multiple member accounts.
The country’s fourth-largest fund is targeting the “missing middle” of members with a new digital advice service in partnership with Ignition Advice.
The prudential regulator confirmed it is considering BUSSQ’s Federal Court appeal.
The Albanese government has put forward a bold proposal to tackle the challenges of Australia’s swelling retirement pool, in an effort to allow superannuation funds to play a more active role in shaping members’ retirement outcomes.