Financial protection for seniors
Older Australians will secure greater protection when receiving information from financial advisers, after the Federal Government’s financial advice reforms was announced last Thursday (28 April).
The key elements of the reforms include a requirement for financial advisers to get clients to ‘opt-in’ every two years if they wish to continue to receive ongoing advice; banning all commissions on risk insurance inside superannuation and a broad ban on volume-based payments.
The changes were welcomed by National Seniors chief executive officer, Michael O’Neill, after he had previously called for better protection for consumers.
Mr O’Neill told DPS Publishing that seniors would benefit from the reforms in two important ways.
“The obvious benefit is maximising the amount of money in seniors’ hands when they retire, and secondly creating an environment where they feel more comfortable and secure with the advice they are receiving to minimise the chance of being ripped off,” he said.
Speaking at the Conference of Major Super Funds last year, Mr O’Neill said older Australians had lost faith in their super funds; largely as a result of poor customer service and financial advice.
“Older Australians are a particularly vulnerable group when it comes to receiving financial advice, so we believe these changes are a welcomed step in the interest of all consumers,” Mr O’Neill said.
