The United Services Union joins the ACTU in welcoming the Government’s announcement of a review into the Your Future, Your Super performance test.
Workers should have confidence their super will perform well and an appropriate and comprehensive performance test is key to that.
Performance benchmarking is critical, but the former federal Government established an incomplete testing regime giving no incentive for funds to actively invest to get their members a better outcome in retirement.
What is the superannuation performance test?
The test compares every MySuper product’s actual financial year returns, net of fees, over the past eight years against what APRA expected the fund should have at least achieved based on the mix of its assets and the benchmark returns of those asset classes.
WHAT IS AN EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE TEST?
An effective performance test must set a minimum standard while allowing funds to make investments in affordable housing, advanced manufacturing and in the clean energy transition.
The Government has recently improved the test by ensuring more products are tested and over a longer period, but more needs to be done.
According to ACTU Assistant Secretary Joseph Mitchell, “The current performance test isn’t fit for purpose and acts as a handbrake on workers’ super investing in new, growing and innovative parts of the economy at the cost of their retirement savings.”
In the 1980s workers fought for and won superannuation and it is now one of the most important pillars of our economy.
Super Funds should not be prevented from making investments in affordable housing, advanced manufacturing and in emerging industries that generate good returns for members.
RETIRING IN DIGNITY
Alongside the proposed changes to include super theft in the wage theft provisions of the Closing Loopholes Bill and the alignment of the payment of super with wages, the Albanese Government’s measures will help Australian workers retire in dignity.”
