Latest news
That’s a wrap on our inaugural SMC Super Summit!
29/10/2025
On Monday, 27 October 2025, delegates from the super sector came together at Parliament House in Canberra for the inaugural SMC Super Summit, sponsored by IFM investors. The SMC Super Summit 2025 brought together Australia’s super leaders, policymakers, and global experts for high-impact discussion, collaboration, and inspiration. Themed “Supercharging Members’ Futures,” the event focused on the pivotal role of super in shaping retirement outcomes for millions of Australians, and the opportunities and challenges facing the sector in a rapidly changing world.
Unpaid super is making women poorer. Fixing it is urgent
29/08/2025
In a country that prides itself on making major strides on gender equity, it’s shocking that one in four working women are being short-changed on their super each year. This week, SMC released a new report that lays bare the scale of the challenge. Unpaid super costs the typical working woman in Australia more than $26,000 by the time she retires. That’s on top of the fact that women already retire with a quarter less super than men. Unpaid super makes it harder to close that gender super gap.
From The White House to Number 10 Downing Street
24/10/2025
From The White House to Number 10 Downing Street, Australian pension capital was at the centre of headline-grabbing geopolitical discussions this week, underscoring the global reach and influence of Australia’s $4.3 trillion superannuation system. In the US, President Donald Trump appeared alongside Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to announce a deal between the two nations. A statement released by the White House included a reference to modelling by the Super Members Council, showing a forecast increase in the US investment pipeline from Australian super funds of $US1.44 trillion over the next decade.
LISTO update: A win for fairness in the super system
17/10/2025
To quote Ernest Hemingway, change has a way of happening “gradually, then suddenly”. That’s how this week felt for anyone who has been advocating for a lift to the low income super tax offset (LISTO). Frozen for 13 years, LISTO is a fairness measure to top up the super of low-income workers, but it has fallen behind changes to tax brackets and super contribution rates. On Monday, Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced the Government will unfreeze the LISTO, boosting the super savings of 1.3 million low-paid workers, mostly women.
Payday super introduced: a long‑time coming reform we now need to pass swiftly
13/10/2025
Yesterday’s introduction of payday super laws to the Australian Parliament marks a milestone for working Australians—and for everyone who has campaigned patiently and persistently for this change. For years, the Super Members Council and its predecessor organisations have championed aligning super with wages to tackle unpaid super, which still drains about $5.7 billion a year—around $110 million every week. Meaningful reform takes time, perseverance, and a broad coalition, and payday super proves that formula works.
The growing risk of poverty among older women in retirement revealed in new report
03/10/2025
On Tuesday, a landmark new report for the Super Members Council (SMC) by Impact Economics and Policy, was launched at a packed event in Melbourne by Minister for Finance and Women, Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher. The report sounds the alarm on a looming crisis that demands our collective action: the growing risk of poverty among older women in retirement, particularly single women and renters.
Low- and middle-income retirees better off by more than $11,000 each year thanks to super
27/08/2025
A landmark new report finds new middle and low-income retirees in the middle wealth group have been the biggest beneficiaries of compulsory super, with an extra $11,388 to spend each year on things they need or love like living costs, holidays and making memories with family.
Fixing the Friction: SMC welcomes progress on regulatory reform
22/08/2025
This week’s Economic Reform Roundtable in Canberra thoughtfully considered some of the regulatory inefficiencies and distortions that have built up in Australia’s super system over time. The Super Members Council (SMC) welcomes the consensus that emerged on the need to simplify and avoid duplication in super regulation to cut costs borne by members – the millions of everyday Australians with their retirement savings in the system.
Retirement Revolution: Super’s Coming of Age
15/08/2025
Last week, SMC released a first-of-its-kind analysis of the super system that showed something both striking and unremarkable: the biggest beneficiaries of more than three decades of super have been middle to low income workers — which is exactly what was intended. The report, Retirement Revolution: Super’s Coming of Age, uses HILDA and ABS data to track the income and wealth of recent retirees over three decades.
Why retirement phase super must be measured
29/07/2025
Retirement is not a single journey — it’s millions of different ones. Each retiree’s path is shaped by their health, housing, family, lifestyle, and financial needs. What’s clear is that retirees need more from their super than they did during the accumulation phase. In retirement, super must shift from being a savings vehicle to a reliable source of income, stability, and confidence. This means we need to both measure the quality of retirement phase products, and we need better tools to assess their quality.
Why payday super laws can’t wait
24/07/2025
When Coco* asked her former boss why she hadn’t been paid her super, she was told “not to worry, it’s paid quarterly”. But as time went by, and with red flags flying ominously, she felt helpless. Despite months of enquiries and reassurances that payment would come, her worst fears were realised when her employer went into liquidation. This left her and colleagues without thousands of dollars in super payments they had earned and were legally owed.
Recommendations for reform across multiple sectors to address financial abuse
09/12/2024
On Thursday, a parliamentary inquiry made a unanimous set of recommendations for reform across multiple sectors including superannuation, to address financial abuse. Included was a recommended law change to stop abusers from receiving their victim’s super.