The SMSF Association has flagged it is now time for continued modifications to the superannuation system to cease in order for the industry to prove its integrity and build trust with Australians and SMSF trustees.
“The super system is a long-term system where stability and certainty are two of the essential elements,” SMSF Association chair Peter Crump said.
“Australia is recognised as one of the best retirement income systems in the world by world benchmarking standards.
“But the public doesn’t really know that because they’re more concerned about the threat of change and if they commit to superannuation today, will the outcomes be what they expected [tomorrow]? That is the biggest risk at the moment.”
SMSF Association chief executive Andrea Slattery added consumer confidence was the biggest political battle it was dealing with currently.
“[That is] the ability for people to be able to trust the system and the ability for people to become engaged and to be self-sufficient,” Slattery said.
“There’s lack of confidence in the super system [due to] the fact that there needs to be a bipartisan commitment by both political parties [to] the future of super as the primary retirement savings vehicle.”
Last Thursday, the peak industry body changed its name from the SMSF Professionals’ Association of Australia to the SMSF Association, in a move it said would establish the body as the logical place for trustees to receive information and professional support for SMSF matters.
“SPAA has been a wonderful name for us along the journey and we’ve been acknowledged both formally and informally as the organisation that made the acronym and words, SMSF, a familiar term in Australia,” Slattery said.
“But we’re always thinking about our evolution, our vision and our strategy, which is to lead the integrity of the industry both in Australia and internationally, it’s to lead professionalism and to be the place where everybody seeks their specialists.
“We are the ones who know this … niche market.
As a result of the announcement, however, no changes were made to the association’s vision or objectives, and approach to the sector, she said.
“Our objective has [always] been to continue to build integrity in the sector,” she said.
