The government will make it cheaper and less risky for super funds to provide more advice to members, but stop short of implementing a review’s main recommendation.
The Albanese government will scrap onerous paperwork for superannuation funds and financial planners to boost access to affordable advice, but is not convinced the big banks can be trusted to help millions of Australians transition to retirement.
“Superannuation funds must play an expanded and more effective role that serves the needs of their members,” Mr Jones will tell the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia breakfast meeting, according to speech notes seen by“As such, we will adopt the review’s recommendation for superannuation funds to expand their provision of advice. We will also provide legal certainty for funds on how to collectively charge for advice.
But the government will adopt Ms Levy’s recommendations that the restrictions on collective charging be amended to allow them to give more advice and information to members. “Some rules that were intended to protect consumers have instead materialised as unnecessary and unused documentation at best,” Mr Jones will say. “With each superfluous rule, the cost of providing advice has increased. And consumer outcomes have not improved. We can do better.”
“In terms of priority, I believe it is more urgent that we fix the problems for financial advisers and help the 5 million Australians at or approaching retirement, get access to more retirement income advice,” Mr Jones will say.“I’m just not compelled that the same urgency exists in these other spaces [such as] ... banks and insurers. There is also a difference between the obligations that cover these institutions and superannuation funds.
“We need a diversity of providers. And the obvious candidates are the people that look after our money, or lend us money,” the financial services lawyerAll four of the major retail banks sold or shut their financial advice operations following the royal commission, which levelled widespread allegations of criminal misconduct against the sector.
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