POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
APRA data dispels retirement phase myth, Cooper says
Recently released data from the Australian Prudential and Regulation Authority (APRA) shows that the retirement phase of superannuation should be a priority, Challenger’s chairman of retirement income and former Super System Review chairman, Jeremy Cooper, said.
APRA data showing that the average balances of over 1.6 million retired superannuation fund members was now over $250,000 dispelled the myth that retiree super balances were relatively small, he said.
“Many people are now accumulating super balances that will make a meaningful difference to retirement and there’s a need for the super industry to do more to help them spend down their money safely with cash flows that last for life,” Cooper said.
Due to the growth in super balances, he said many funds now managed assets for their retired members alone that ran into tens of billions of dollars, yet these assets were not distinguished from the assets of those still in the working phase of their life, even though retirees faced very different risks.
“The retirement phase of superannuation needs to be enhanced to better meet the needs of members. The retirement income framework is an effective way to achieve this by delivering more clarity and choice for Australian retirees,” Cooper said.
“Government proposals for a retirement income framework, including comprehensive income products for retirement (CIPRs), are a big step forward. They will be an enhancement, not a disruptive change. Retiring members will only get a CIPR if they purposely choose to have one.
“Even then, the product everyone has now, an account-based pension, will remain the major component of most CIPRs.”
Recommended for you
The lower outlook for inflation has set the stage for another two rate cuts over the first half of 2026, according to Westpac.
With private asset valuations emerging as a key concern for both regulators and the broader market, Apollo Global Management has called on the corporate regulator to issue clear principles on valuation practices, including guidance on the disclosures it expects from market participants.
Institutional asset owners are largely rethinking their exposure to the US, with private markets increasingly being viewed as a strategic investment allocation, new research has shown.
Australia’s corporate regulator has been told it must quickly modernise its oversight of private markets, after being caught off guard by the complexity, size, and opacity of the asset class now dominating institutional portfolios.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
92.15 3 y p.a(%)
2
Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
53.24 3 y p.a(%)
3
Global X GlobalX FANG+ ETF
43.15 3 y p.a(%)
4
DomaCom Shoreline North Coogee
36.26 3 y p.a(%)
5
GAM LSA Private Shares AU I
35.87 3 y p.a(%)
