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In its superannuation policy for the 2013 election, the Government stated that it would review both the minimum withdrawal amounts for account-based pensions and the regulatory barriers currently restricting ‘the availability of relevant and appropriate income stream products in the Australian market’.
The then Acting Assistant Treasurer released a discussion paper, Review of retirement income stream regulation, for consultation on 21 July 2014. There were 47 submissions from individuals, industry associations, superannuation funds and professional services firms. Treasury met with a range of industry stakeholders on a number of occasions to discuss issues raised by the discussion paper.
Treasury subsequently developed proposals to address issues raised during consultation for the Government’s consideration. These proposals were circulated in February 2015 to those stakeholders who had made a submission in response to the original discussion paper. Treasury received a further 22 submissions and conducted further consultation to refine the proposals.
Further targeted consultation on the detailed design of the proposed approach was conducted in May and August 2015. A further 13 submissions were received.
The Government released the final report and its response accepting the review’s recommendations on 3 May 2016, as part of the 2016-17 Budget.