Govt to streamline disclosure

Chris Bowen

The Minister for Financial Services, Superannuation and Corporate Law, Chris Bowen, has announced the Government is streamlining long-term superannuation disclosure requirements.

The move would enable members to receive more useful and accessible information and would exclude exit statements, allow the industry to use inserts to provide five-year performance information until June 30, 2011, exempt traditional funds and allow approved deposit funds and pooled superannuation trusts to provide annual reports online.

Pauline Vamos, the Association of Superannuation Fund of Australia's (ASFA's) chief executive, welcomed the Government's announcement saying it was a clear victory for the industry. "This is a clear indication that this Government is willing to listen and is looking for pragmatic outcomes that provide a benefit to members without placing unnecessary costs on the industry. The next step is to provide income benefit projections for fund members in their annual statements. The industry wants to find a way to show people what they will get in retirement both with and without the age pension so that they can benchmark themselves against the Westpac-ASFA retirement standard," she said.