Superannuation fund trustees have been granted the power to consolidate multiple accounts for the same member under the Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2013 Measure No.2), which has been introduced into Parliament.
Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation Bill Shorten said the reforms would take effect on 1 July 2013, with the first round of consolidation occurring on 30 June 2014.
Trustees will need to set up procedures for consolidating multiple super accounts for individual members — in situations where it is in the member's best interests — on an annual basis under the legislation.
Defined benefit, fixed home saver accounts and accounts that support an income stream would all be exempt, Shorten said, and the legislation did not consider the level of account balances.
The bill brings to light a recommendation in the Cooper Review which gave super fund trustees the ability to consolidate accounts.
Shorten said Government would continue to assess intrafund consolidation, with the next review due out in late 2014.
Super funds had a “tremendous month” in November, according to new data.
Australia faces a decade of deficits, with the sum of deficits over the next four years expected to overshoot forecasts by $21.8 billion.
APRA has raised an alarm about gaps in how superannuation trustees are managing the risks associated with unlisted assets, after releasing the findings of its latest review.
Compared to how funds were allocated to March this year, industry super funds have slightly decreased their allocation to infrastructure in the six months to September – dropping from 11 per cent to 10.6 per cent, according to the latest APRA data.