Superannuation

The federal government plans to use part of the $4.2 billion projected budget surplus to provide cost-of-living relief for Australian households and small businesses. It’s also moving forward with controversial plans to change tax concessions for the superannuation industry.

The regulator found 45 per cent of Choice super options underperformed the heatmap benchmarks in 2022, while one in five underperformed significantly. It also put trustees on notice that it’s stepping up scrutiny of poorly performing Choice products.

With the prospect of a recession in Australia still looming large, SMSF investors might take comfort in new research showing that while their sector underperformed APRA-regulated funds in a booming 2021, SMSFs weathered the last contractionary environment, in 2020, better than larger funds did.

Women continue to close the gap on men when it comes to superannuation, with new Roy Morgan research showing the gender gap in balance levels and super ownership declining over the past 10 years. But for the gap to be eliminated any time soon, the catch-up rate will have to greatly improve.

Treasury’s plan would increase the headline tax rate to 30 per cent from 15 per cent for earnings on superannuation balances above $3 million. The SMSF Association and others have called it unsustainable and discriminatory to SMSFs.

The changes to the Your Future Your Super performance test are an improvement, according to Willis Towers Watson. But the application of the test to trustee-directed products is probably more of a negative than a positive, and some benchmarks remain inflexible.

Australians across the board are less satisfied with their superannuation funds than they were a year ago, a new report from Roy Morgan showed, with sharemarket volatility and industry consolidation acting as major drivers of the decline.

Many of the top-performing names in superannuation lead their target allocation categories over long time periods, a newly released quarterly survey from Morningstar showed. But it came with a sobering kicker: there’s still a significant account balance gender gap.

The Treasurer’s plan to limit concessional tax treatment within super at $3 million comes without a lot of the details required for effective retirement planning. Making bold changes now could be costly, says Wattle Partners principal Drew Meredith.

The most important aspect of SMSF membership is commitment, SuperConcepts’ Graeme Colley told advisers at the SMSF Association’s National Conference, stressing that potential trustees’ prime consideration should be whether they have the time and energy required to run a successful fund.

Michelle Levy said she was ‘puzzled’ by the government’s decision to conduct a consultation on the proposals handed down in the advice review, while industry leaders urged for the adoption of her reform suite.

One of Australia’s largest retail super funds will be hauled before the court over allegations it engaged in greenwashing of products in what will likely be a test case for the practice.