FSC comment on early access to superannuation

The Financial Services Council (FSC) welcomes the announcement that the Commonwealth will reform the early access arrangements to superannuation for Australians with terminal illnesses.

The rigid superannuation access laws will now have more flexibility.

The current regulatory framework to enable Australians with a terminal illness to access their superannuation requires certification from a medical specialist that an individual has less than twelve months to live.

Sally Loane, CEO of the Financial Services Council said: “The twelve month restriction is arbitrary and may prevent individual with a terminal illness from readily accessing their superannuation when they need it.

“The FSC supports increasing this threshold to twenty four months to accommodate a range of personal circumstances and illnesses.”

Flexible early release arrangements are a necessary consideration as we orientate the superannuation system towards accommodating varied circumstances of Australians.

Super must be flexible for people with disabilities or caring responsibilities in an environment where mature age workforce participation should be encouraged.

Sally Loane said: “While the Intergenerational Report demonstrated that most Australians will need to work for longer to address improving longevity and inadequate retirement savings, in order to be fair, the superannuation system similarly needs to evolve to accommodate those who cannot work to an older age through no fault of their own.”

Source: Financial Services Council