Retirement Income Review: an update

The Federal Government announced a review into the retirement income system on 27 September 2019.

This evaluation was recommended by the Productivity Commission in its report Superannuation: Assessing Efficiency and Competitiveness. It comes 27 years after the establishment of compulsory superannuation.

An independent panel will undertake the review, which will cover the current state of the system and how it will perform in the future as Australians live longer and the population ages.

A consultation process – the stage where the public and public bodies can provide their comments and viewpoints – ran from 22 November 2019 to 3 February 2020. The Australian community and stakeholders with a particular interest in superannuation, pensions and retirement incomes were asked to submit their input on topics including the changing Australian landscape (e.g. longevity, home ownership) and the adequacy, fairness and long-term suitability of the current system.

Dozens of individuals and organisations – including super funds, super industry bodies and lobbying groups – have made submissions to the review. You can view these on the Retirement Income Review online portal.

The Panel is due to provide its final report to the Government by June 2020. We will include further updates as they become available on the First Super news pages and in MembersFirst.