After extensive market consultation, ASIC has substantially improved the relief it provides for superannuation trustees in relation to the content and relevance of the retirement estimates that can be provided to members. The combination of the relief for retirement estimates with the relief for superannuation calculators specified in RG 276 provides an opportunity to seamlessly move members from simple estimates to more sophisticated calculators while at the same time enabling much greater consistency of the overall member experience. This is an excellent opportunity for meaningful engagement with members – especially those approaching retirement.
The more meaningful and useful member information that can be provided comes at the cost of greater complexity for funds. The simplistic systems currently used by many funds (in some cases just spreadsheets) will not be sufficient in the new environment. They will need to be upgraded if the opportunity is to be seized.
These upgrades could potentially be quite costly due to the updated calculations that the new regime requires. But this need not necessarily be the case.
Set out below, we have identified the member benefits that can flow from the changes and then explained how these can be delivered cost effectively.
References:
[1] The Deloitte Superannuation Market Projection Report 2022 is currently in preparation.