As Treasury opens consultation on its draft legislation for the objective of superannuation, MLC Life Insurance has welcomed the government’s commitment to insurance in super, underlining its importance to helping Australians achieve a dignified retirement.
The explanatory materials on the draft legislation lay out that given its broad reach “…access to affordable group insurance is an important benefit of the superannuation system and is consistent with the objective. Through group insurance, the superannuation system provides a safety net that delivers valuable protection to the community and meets members’ needs at reasonable cost.”
Mark Puli, Chief Group Insurance Officer for MLC Life Insurance, says that the protection of life insurance is part of the promise of superannuation for the more than 24 million Australians insured through their super.
“We’ll continue to make the case for group insurance throughout any consultation on the objective of super, as we underscore the need to recognise the integral role of insurance in super and the broader retirement system.”
He says the inclusion of life insurance in the explanatory memo that accompanies the objective of super is an important step in ensuring the ongoing protection of insurance in super.
…recognising the role of insurance in super is absolutely critical…
“As the government seeks to define the objective of superannuation, recognising the role of insurance in super is absolutely critical, and we’re pleased the government has seen fit to do that.”
CALI Call
The government’s draft Bill follows a call in February by CALI for insurance to be included in super and a subsequent Riskinfo poll which found more than seven in 10 advisers had concerns about the lack of reference to life insurance in the government’s ‘objective of superannuation’ discussion paper.
The Treasury website explains that the draft legislation and explanatory materials “…reflect the feedback received from stakeholders on the need to legislate the objective of superannuation to provide a shared direction for government, the superannuation industry and Australians.”
Puli also notes that default insurance cover through superannuation “…will continue to grow in importance as the way in which most Australians access life insurance. The group insurance system plays an essential role in the ongoing importance of Australia’s world-class superannuation system, providing a crucial safety net for working Australians.”
He adds that insuring the lives and livelihoods of Australians “…through group insurance is of the utmost focus for MLC Life Insurance and we continue to work closely with our superannuation partners to provide appropriate cover which helps protect members’ retirement balances from being diminished due to incapacity or interrupted work patterns because of injury or illness.”
He concludes, that “…put simply, public policy must enable super fund trustees to meet their core duties to members, including the provision of insurance in superannuation, which helps to protect members’ retirement.”
