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Speaking on a panel during the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) national conference in Melbourne, Silk said that he believed there needed to be more focus on the inter-relationship between the Age Pension and Superannuation.
He said he believed the Government’s retirement income review was a really good idea in circumstances where Australia had not really had a holistic examination of the retirement incomes regime.
However, Silk said it needed to thoroughly examine the inter-relationship between superannuation and the Age Pension.
“And that is where the assets and income test comes into play and the question of taper rates,” he said.
Silk said that, in his view and despite the critics, it was not the superannuation system that was at fault, it was the taper rate.
Mercer partner and ASFA board member, Jo-Anne Bloch agreed with Silk and said that more attention needed to be turned to the decumulation phase.
Australia’s largest super funds have deepened private markets exposure, scaled internal investment capability, and balanced liquidity as competition and consolidation intensify.
The ATO has revealed nearly $19 billion in lost and unclaimed super, urging over 7 million Australians to reclaim their savings.
The industry super fund has launched a new digital experience designed to make retirement preparation simpler and more personalised for its members.
A hold in the cash rate during the upcoming November monetary policy meeting appears to now be a certainty off the back of skyrocketing inflation during the September quarter.