Superannuation trustees are increasingly focused on providing members with tools, information, and advice that are intended to assist members in making decisions and planning for their retirement. Online calculators and retirement estimates play an important role in enabling members to access clearer information about how decisions and scenarios earlier in life will affect their retirement income outcomes.

The future regulatory treatment has become clearer, following ASIC’s release of a new relief instrument and regulatory guidance for superannuation calculators and retirement income estimates. ASIC has made ASIC Corporations (Superannuation Calculators and Retirement Estimates) Instrument 2022/603 (the Instrument) and issued associated regulatory guidance – Regulatory Guide 276 Superannuation forecasts: Calculators and retirement estimates. This note is intended to provide a summary of what has changed and stayed the same in relation to the relief.

The relief will transition to replace and change the existing relief from 1 July 2022 before fully replacing the previous relief from 1 July 2023. The Instrument provides superannuation trustees with conditional relief from the Australian financial service licensing and disclosure requirements (relating to financial services guides, additional requirements for personal advice and other disclosure requirements related to advice) under the Corporations Act 2001.

According to ASIC, the revised relief and guidance is intended to “give greater clarity to trustees about how they can use calculators and retirement estimates as part of their strategies under the retirement income covenant,” as well as “provide greater flexibility in how trustees can give retirement estimates to their members, including through interactive tools.”

ASIC’s guidance recognises the importance and potential benefits of superannuation calculators and retirement estimates, as well as their limitations. The guidance does not consider the Quality of Advice Review currently being undertaken by the Government; however, we anticipate that the Review will consider the utility of calculators and retirement estimates and whether they can be permanently integrated into the regulatory framework for advice.

In the meantime, other options available to trustees include providing a superannuation forecast while complying with the personal advice requirements under the Corporations Act (where personal advice is being provided); applying to ASIC for relief; or providing a forecast that is only factual information.

Superannuation Trustees can still rely on the prior relief until 31 December 2022.

• Superannuation calculators: ASIC Corporations (Generic Calculators) Instrument 2016/207 until 31 December 2022 (see ASIC Corporations (Amendment) Instrument 2022/604); and

• Retirement estimates: ASIC Corporations (Repeal and Transitional – Relief for Providers of Retirement Estimates) Instrument 2022/204.

Trustees that currently make a calculator available to members should complete a technical compliance review of any superannuation calculators and retirement estimates provided to members.

Download the full document below for a detailed explanation of all the changes.

If your trustee office needs further clarification or assistance with ASIC Corporations (Superannuation Calculators and Retirement Estimates) please contact QMV Legal at sayhi@qmvsolutions.com or 03 9620 0707.

Gabriele Pirana - Senior Associate
QMV Legal

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