Labor will issue an amendment in third reading of the Your Future, Your Super Bill mandating no employee should be stapled to an underperforming funds.
In the second reading of the bill in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Shadow Treasurer, Stephen Jones, said if funds were restricted from accepting new members, they should also not be able to prevent its existing members from leaving.
“No employee should be stapled to a fund that the Government is saying that is so lousy that no new member should be allowed to join because it is so poorly performing,” he said.
“It is beggar’s belief that if you are identifying underperforming funds, that in the same legislation, you would have an employee stapled to that same fund.
“We agree that the Government should manage poorly-performing super funds but, for god sake, don’t staple to poor unsuspecting worker to it.”
Around three million workers were in underperforming funds and Jones said he was particularly concerned about those members who were disengaged with their superannuation.
The difference between the best and worst-performing super funds could be as high as $500,000 in lost retirement savings, Jones said.
Australia’s superannuation sector is being held back by overlapping and outdated regulation, ASFA says, with compliance costs almost doubling in seven years – a drain on member returns and the economy alike.
Two of Australia’s largest industry super funds have thrown their support behind an ASIC review into how stamp duty is disclosed in investment fee reporting, saying it could unlock more capital for housing projects.
The corporate watchdog is preparing to publish a progress report on private credit this September, following a comprehensive review of the rapidly expanding market.
The fund has appointed Fotine Kotsilas as its new chief risk officer, continuing a series of executive changes aimed at driving growth, but NGS Super’s CEO has assured the fund won’t pursue growth for growth’s sake.