The Federal Government has used the Budget papers to reinforce its intention to impose a “retirement covenant” on superannuation funds.
The Budget papers confirmed the Government’s intention to amend the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (SIS Act) “to introduce a retirement covenant that will require superannuation trustees to formulate a retirement income strategy for superannuation fund members”.
The Budget papers said the Government would also amend the Corporations Act 2001 to introduce a requirement for providers of retirement income products to report simplified, standardised metrics in product disclosure to assist customer decision making.
The Budget announcement comes amid industry concerns that a one size fits all approach will not be appropriate with respect to the development of Comprehensive Income Products in Retirement (CIPRs).
Super funds are strengthening systems and modelling member benefits ahead of payday super.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has approved real-time payments for superannuation, removing a major hurdle ahead of payday super reforms.
The responsible investment body has emphasised the importance of clear communication as ART takes a substantial shareholding in Tabcorp.
Australian super funds have posted early gains in FY26, driven by strong share market performance and resilient long-term returns.