Remove barriers to development of income products: CBA
Regulatory impediments need to be removed to allow the financial planning sector to develop more retirement products to address the needs of women, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) believes.
The CBA reiterated its call for the removal of barriers blocking "the cost-effective development of income stream products which address longevity risk", initially made it its submission to the Financial System Inquiry, when it lodged its submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Economics: Inquiry into the economic security of women in retirement.
"Women are particularly exposed to longevity risk as they live longer," the submission said.
"There have been two Government commissioned reviews into the regulatory barriers currently restricting the availability of relevant and appropriate income stream products in Australia.
"The Commonwealth Bank supports this activity, particularly a greater policy focus on outcomes in the retirement phase for superannuation.
"We believe that addressing a number of regulatory impediments will allow the market to develop a greater variety of retirement products which appropriately manage longevity risk as it is particularly important for women."
The CBA also called for "consistent tax deductibility treatment for financial advice", saying the "distortion that arises from the tax treatment of fees paid for financial advice, which can reduce access to advice".
"Currently, the cost financial advice can be tax deductible if it is paid for on an ongoing basis, including instalment payment plans," the CBA submission said.
"Advice fees are currently not deductible where the fee is paid up-front."
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