The Minister for Financial Services & Regulation, Joe Hockey, announced today the Government would strengthen the supervision of Australia's 12,000 APRA-regulated superannuation funds.
"After home ownership, super savings represent the most important asset of Australian households, so the people looking after the super, trustees, must be adequately skilled and must be accountable to their members," the Minister said.
"With over 8.5 million people having super that is worth over $500 billion, it is a big part of our economy and a big part of people's lives.
An issues paper released today for public comment spells out options for improving prudential regulation and governance of super funds.
The five key options include:
- universal licensing for all super funds;
- minimum capital for all super funds;
- forcing super funds to hold annual general meetings;
- giving the regulator, APRA, the power to make prudential standards, like it does for banks and general insurers; and
- reviewing ways the Government can help funds that suffer big losses.
"I want super funds to hold compulsory annual meetings so members can have a say in how their funds are being managed. More super safety means more super accountability."
Other options include:
- using compliance plans for super funds;
- empowering members to approve the giving of benefits to related parties;
- giving APRA an extra $5.2 million over the next two years to expand its super investigation and enforcement
- having APRA revise its investment guidelines for trustees, and developing other new rules on funds outsourcing their responsibilities;
- guiding trustees on how to improve their accountability of super funds.
A Superannuation Working Group will be set up with members from APRA, the Treasury and ASIC, to conduct public consultation on the issues paper. Mr Don Mercer, former CEO of the ANZ Banking Group and a current board director of APRA will chair the group.
Comments on the issues paper are due by 1 February 2002.
The issues paper can be found at www.joehockey.com