Buttoning Up Australian Superannuation

Abstract

Missed opportunities flow from the Australian pension industry’s insularity. Trespassing into other industries should lead to new approaches and solutions. We would surely benefit from learning how regulated industries, such as airlines and pharmaceuticals, view and manage risks. This article compares Australia’s superannuation (a.k.a. pension) industry today to its auto industry 25 years ago.Then, a courageous minister, John Button, used market forces and government direction to successfully rationalize an industry suffering from overcapacity and poor quality. Today’s superannuation industry suffers in the same way; a similar rationalization would advantage fund members (and disadvantage most agents). The time has come to “button up” Australian superannuation.

Keywords: Auto Industry, Capacity, Choice, Pension Fund, Trustees