This review was recommended by the Productivity Commission in its report Superannuation - assessing efficiency and competitiveness and comes 27 years after the establishment of compulsory superannuation.

The review was undertaken by an independent panel, chaired by Mr Mike Callaghan AM PSM, with Ms Carolyn Kay and Dr Deborah Ralston as panel members. A public consultation paper was released in November 2019.

The review covers the current state of the system and how it will perform in the future as Australians live longer and the population ages.

The review has considered the incentives for people to self-fund their retirement, the fiscal sustainability of the system, the role of the three pillars of the retirement income system, and the level of support provided to different cohorts across time.

Key observations:

• The Australian retirement income system is effective, sound and its costs are broadly sustainable.
• There is a need to improve understanding of the system.
• There are competing interests in the system.
• A clear objective for the system, agreed by the Australian community through the government, is needed to guide policy, improve understanding and provide a framework for assessing performance of the system.