Australian retirees will have more information at their fingertips to help support them as they navigate their retirement following a Federal Government announcement.
The Council of Australian Life Insurers (CALI) welcomes the move to improve the retirement phase of superannuation through a suite of measures aimed at giving people more trusted information, better retirement products and greater transparency.
“This is a big win, especially for the five million people who are currently in, or preparing for, retirement,” said CALI CEO Christine Cupitt.
“We welcome the Federal Government’s announcement, which will help Australians better navigate what can be a complex life stage.”
The measures announced include:
- improvements to consumer information on retirement options via the Moneysmart website and a consumer education campaign
- changes to income stream regulations to support innovation in quality retirement products with features such as money back guarantees and instalment payments instead of an upfront lump sum
- a new set of voluntary best practice principles to guide the design of modern, high-quality income products that support people in retirement
- a new retirement outcomes reporting framework.
In a submission to Government in March this year, CALI called for further investment to give Australians more access to information about retirement.
“Australia’s life insurers have long been pushing for these improvements because they’re critical to helping people make the right decisions for them about how to finance their retirement.”
Worryingly, independent research commissioned by CALI shows how uncertain many Australians feel about how they’ll fund their retirement.
One in every two people intends to claim the age pension at some point during their retirement, a third are not sure what they’ll do and just 15 per cent say they don’t intend to claim the age pension at all.
“We have more retirees than we’ve ever had before, who are living longer and spending more time in retirement. These Australians need choice, control and certainty when it comes to how they manage their finances.”
Increased access to affordable financial advice through tranche two of the Government’s Delivering Better Financial Outcomes package is now a logical next step to giving people the information they need about retirement options and products.
“People should be able to contact their life insurer directly and get simple advice at no extra cost to them.
Australia’s life insurers want to support Australians to make informed choices about their future and help them live in a healthy, confident and secure way over their lifetime – including when they decide to retire.”