Latest news

 

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.