Australia Archives - Pension Policy International

24MarMarch 24, 2025

Australia. Retirees more pessimistic about retirement expectations: report

Australians have changed their retirement expectations over the past 12 months, with higher living costs creating a pessimistic attitude among pre-retirees, according to a report from Colonial First State. The Rethinking Retirement Report 2025 revealed that rising living costs have eroded comfortable living standards for retirees, and fewer retirees said they are currently able to enjoy a comfortable retirement compared to last year. It continued that three-quarters of retirees are using pension payments to cover essential living expenses, while close to one in...

March 24, 2025

News, SliderAustralia, Retirement Planning

21MarMarch 21, 2025

Meeting the Growing Demand for Age-Friendly Care: Health Care at the Crossroads

By The John A. Hartford Foundation America is aging rapidly. Those age 65 and older are the fastest-growing segment of the population. From 2025-2050, the number of adults 65+ will increase by 30%, from 63 million to 82 million, accounting for nearly one quarter (23%) of the total population by mid-century. And the “oldest old” ranks are growing even faster: the number of adults age 85 and older is projected to more than double between 2025 and 2050, from 7 million...

March 21, 2025

Aging, Books, Books2024, Aging, Australia, Healthcare

18MarMarch 18, 2025

Amid robust U.S. investment, Australia’s largest retirement fund plots an ambitious agenda

AustralianSuper first began operating in 2006 when the Superannuation Trust of Australia and the Australian Retirement Fund merged, seeing the benefits of size. That year, CIO and Deputy Chief Executive Mark Delaney was responsible for managing approximately A$21.3 billion. Almost 20 years later, he’s running Australia’s largest superannuation fund, with over A$380 billion ($239 billion) in assets and serving over 3.5 million Australians across a broad swath of professions. And that is only set to grow in coming years with...

March 18, 2025

News, SliderAustralia, Investment, US

05FebFebruary 5, 2025

Australia. SMSFA calls for urgent review of pension tax ruling

The SMSF Association has called on the government to urgently review Tax Ruling 2013/5A1, saying the commissioner’s view on when a pension ceases due to the failure to make minimum pension payments remains problematic. In a submission in collaboration with the joint bodies, the SMSFA said TR 2013/5 lacks clear legislative backing, and its reliance on regulation 1.06(9A) appears to be an overreach, adding unnecessary complexity without providing practical benefit. The addendum to TR2013/5 deals with when a superannuation income stream...

February 5, 2025

News, SliderAustralia, Regulation

29JanJanuary 29, 2025

Retirement is a risky business for most people

Firstlinks published an article by Bruce Bennett on 8 January 2025 that highlighted some of the problems with the Commonwealth Super Scheme (CSS): This article drew comparisons between account-based pensions available from industry super funds and SMSFs. I think those comparisons are misplaced. A more interesting exercise would be to compare the CSS with the age pension because both are income streams that are paid for life and indexed to inflation. In both cases, the provider is the Commonwealth Government and benefits are...

January 29, 2025

News, SliderAustralia, Longevity, Risk

24JanJanuary 24, 2025

Australia. Avoiding the retirement poverty trap

More than one fifth of Australian retirees live in poverty, according to a recent report by the left-leaning think-tank, The Australia Institute. The Reducing poverty in retirement report compares the poverty rate of people aged 65 and over between Australia, Sweden, and Norway, which are nations with comparable GDPs. It concludes that the public pension systems in Sweden and Norway ensure retirement security while Australia’s system does not. The rate of poverty in retirement in Australia is 22.6% – more than one in five. In...

January 24, 2025

News, SliderAustralia, Income, Retirement Planning

22NovNovember 22, 2024

Australia. Why some people deserve an age pension before others: new research

However, the ageing population presents long-term fiscal challenges to the sustainability of social welfare systems of advanced economies such as Australia and especially the cost of providing age pensions. The Australian government’s Intergenerational Report 2023 suggests the number of people aged 65 and over will more than double over the next 40 years. But economic growth is forecast to be slower than the previous four decades because of lower population growth and reduced workforce participation due to ageing. In response, the federal government...

November 22, 2024

NewsAustralia, Retirement Age

13NovNovember 13, 2024

Australia. Government urged to transform Disability Support Pension after its ‘lacklustre’ response to Senate report

A coalition of disability and social services groups has called for further reform of the Disability Support Pension (DSP) and condemned the federal government for its official response to a Senate inquiry into the payment. In 2021, a months-long Senate inquiry into the purpose, intent and adequacy of the DSP received 134 submissions and held four public sessions. The inquiry reported early the following year while the Morrison government was still in power, and heard "overwhelming evidence" the DSP was inadequate and that...

November 13, 2024

NewsAustralia, Public Pensions

24OctOctober 24, 2024

Australian super funds face significant stability risks, says IMF

The International Monetary Fund has raised concerns about liquidity risks within Australia’s superannuation system due to a growing share of illiquid investments, such as private equity and credit. In its latest Global Financial Stability Report, the IMF warned that Australian super funds, which are increasingly allocating over 20 per cent of their assets to illiquid investments, face significant stability risks. “Australian superannuation funds are required to allow clients to switch between different investment options generally within three business days, even though...

October 24, 2024

NewsAustralia, Risk

08OctOctober 8, 2024

Australia. Pension exit improvements proposed

A government proposal to allow SMSF members to exit legacy pensions could be improved through the removal of the five-year timeframe, allowing partial commutations and exempting all reserve allocations from any form of contribution caps, the Institute of Financial Professionals Australia (IFPA) has stated. In its submission to Treasury regarding the draft regulations released in mid-September, IFPA welcomed the proposed changes, but added minor amendments to the regulations would ensure they were more effective and flexible in allowing people to exit...

October 8, 2024

NewsAustralia, Pension design, Regulation

March 2025

Australia. Retirees more pessimistic about retirement expectations: report

Meeting the Growing Demand for Age-Friendly Care: Health Care at the Crossroads

Amid robust U.S. investment, Australia’s largest retirement fund plots an ambitious agenda

February 2025

Australia. SMSFA calls for urgent review of pension tax ruling

January 2025

Retirement is a risky business for most people

Australia. Avoiding the retirement poverty trap

November 2024

Australia. Why some people deserve an age pension before others: new research

Australia. Government urged to transform Disability Support Pension after its ‘lacklustre’ response to Senate report

October 2024

Australian super funds face significant stability risks, says IMF

Australia. Pension exit improvements proposed