Labor to outline super and retirement incomes model

The Australian Labor Party is expected to outline a full choice superannuation model when it uses next month’sAssociation of Superannuation Funds of Australia(ASFA) annual conference in Brisbane to launch a substantially revamped retirement incomes policy.

The Opposition spokesman on Retirement Incomes, Senator Nick Sherry has been putting the finishing touches to the policy document over the past few months with it being substantially based on the policy options paper released by the Party in August last year.

The policy is expected to be outlined to the conference by the Opposition’s Treasury spokesman, Mark Latham.

A central element of the Party’s policy document is expected to be a full choice of fund model backed by strong consumer protection and monitoring of fees to ensure they do not act as a disincentive to portability.

The Opposition’s approach to the policy launch is expected to be coloured by next week’s debate in the Senate on the Government’s co-contributions legislation which has in turn been linked to the debate over the status of same sex couples with respect to superannuation death benefits.

With Labor having strongly backed the same sex provisions in the Senate, the Party’s policy document is expected to contain provisions recognising a wider range of relationships with respect to superannuation death benefits, including same sex relationships.