Members wishes paramount on super advice fee deductions
Superannuation fund trustees need to be less influential with respect to the authorisation of advice fees in circumstances where superannuation is members’ money and their decisions should not be capable of being over-ridden.
As well, the Stockbrokers and Investment Advisers Association (SIAA) has told the Government that it is effectively confounding its own desire for the more cost-effective delivery of financial advice pursuing its current legislative proposals around advice fees in superannuation.
In a submission filed with the Senate Economics Legislation Committee, the SIAA expressed its deep concern that under the proposed legislation, superannuation trustees that allow fee deductions will need to check every piece of advice individually and duplicate valid checks already undertaken by financial advisers and their licensees.
“The proposal is unworkable and worse for all than the current situation. It will also significantly increase the costs of operating a superannuation fund.,” it said.
“What is of the most concern is that the Bill provides that a superannuation trustee is not required to agree to the member’s request to charge the relevant costs even when the requirements are satisfied.”
“Superannuation is the member’s money and no trustee should have the right to override a member’s decision in the context of all legal requirements having been met,” the SIAA said.
“Consumers will face more red tape when it comes to setting up an ongoing adviser arrangement with superannuation trustees to pay for advice, yet this brings no additional consumer protections or benefits. This will add to the cost of advice and result in a poor consumer experience.”
“Financial Advisers already have a best interests duty and they must ensure their fees are reasonable and apportion the fees appropriately to meet the SIS Act requirements” it said.
“The government has on multiple occasions been on the public record as noting that Delivering Better Financial Outcomes is intended to reduce red tape. This provision increases it exponentially.”
“We recommend that the Government amends the legislation to ensure that consumers can have advice fees deducted from their superannuation without the red tape that is currently provided for in the Bill.:
Not according to Industry Super, that now own and run Jonsey, ALP, ASIC, APRA, Treasury, etc.
Industry Super tell Canberra,
“It’s our money, all ours, my precious”.
Jones needs to step in and fix the legislation immediately. He promised a reduction in red-tape. His legislation will do the opposite. This has ASIC and Treasury’s fingerprints all over it, and Jones is looking extremely naive and stupid now. If super fund auditing of fees is not removed from the legislation, every financial planner in the country will be lobbying their clients to vote Coalition at the next election; and the message will be powerful when the lobbying is accompanied by a notice of further fee increases.
If a person has met the condition of release for their super, then they should be able to make whatever payment they so direct. The Australian Labor Party is moving towards controlling whether people can access their superannuation at retirement. Very worrying for all retirees if the government and bureaucrats start keeping people from their superannuation funds.
Credit must go to the Stockbrokers and Investment Advisers Association (SIAA) for calling it out.
We have the best government money can buy…..Senator Andrew Bragg has stated over the last 4 years some $40 million has been paid from Industry Super Funds to Labor party affiliated unions. How much do we have to pay to get good legislation going for Australians? I’m not asking this for myself but for Australians.
More delicately, what are the consulting fees, future job promises or donations that need to be made. There are 11,000 Advisers and if we each paid $500 into a Levy, that’s $5.5 million annually ($250 levy will get us $2.75 million and FDS removed). Let’s get onto it before we’re just 5,000.
Before it’s too late, I know a guy who knows a guy, that knows a guy in Treasury, that told another guy…. for a bit of laugh they wrote the term Qualified Adviser into the legislation, and that she said a mere $500K speaker fee at an all expenses paid FAAA conference in Fiji and we can get the new annual requirement to register advisers removed with ASIC. $2.5 million gets us annual fee consents removed. $50 million & we’re exempt from AFCA.
Thanks FAAA for the hard work you’ve done on this…oh wait..opps The Stock Brokers and Investment Advisers Association where the annual membership fee is a mere $395 as opposed to FAAA’s $1,000. All we got out of them (FAAA) was a press release saying “we’re disappointed”.
Dear FAAA
We’re also disappointed…in you.