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International Women’s Day: A time to reflect on our gender retirement savings gap

  • On 08/03/2016
Hopefully, International Women’s Day (March 8) may prompt more of us to reflect on Australia’s gender retirement savings gap. This gap is among the most critical aspects of gender inequality in Australia. Average superannuation balances are higher for males than females in all age bands. However, the gender savings gap increases markedly from age 35 […]
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All hands needed to reduce our gender retirement savings gap

  • On 09/12/2015
  Australia may boast a first class retirement savings system on the global stage, yet many Australian women face the very real risk of enduring life in retirement with a third class outcome. We need to acknowledge this issue and embrace the complex and linked measures needed to fix it.  The solution requires a multilateral […]
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Capping Superannuation Contributions

  • On 24/11/2015
Almost every public policy statement on superannuation now contains a suggestion to restrict the generosity of the system by capping the amount of superannuation to a reasonable level.  The rationale for this is that tax concessions are tilted towards the wealthy who use superannuation for estate planning as well as for retirement income.   The […]
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Government adopts pragmatic response to Trowbridge reforms

  • On 12/11/2015
After a scathing report by ASIC in October 2014, Review of Retail Life Insurance Advice, calling for an end to the misalignment of financial incentives offered to financial advisers and licensees (dealer groups), together with the FSI recommendation for level commissions in life insurance, the FSC and AFA commissioned prominent actuary John Trowbridge to review advice […]
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The FSI Super recommendations

  • On 28/10/2015
Last week’s formal response to David Murray’s Financial System Inquiry (FSI) raised barely a whisper of objection to a comprehensive list of reform recommendations. But a primary response by the new Treasurer Scott Morrison – to refer the framing of competition within default superannuation to the Productivity Commission – has shades of policy endeavours past. […]
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