RESPONSE TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF MILITARY SUPERANNUATION REVIEW

 Australia’s leading ex-service organisations have called on the Federal Government to not endorse the recommendations of the Review of Military Superannuation.

 The National Presidents of the Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL) and the Defence Force Welfare Association (DFWA) have lodged a formal response to the report of the review on behalf of 12 Ex-Service Organisations.

 “The scheme proposed by the Review Team does not appropriately recognise the unique nature of military service, nor does it adequately compensate Australian Defence Force members for the increased risks to their superannuation under the proposed scheme,” said RSL President, Major General Bill Crews.

 “Although both the RSL and DFWA were still in discussions with the Review Team regarding additional data and analysis, at this juncture, the report’s recommendations could not be supported,” said DFWA President, David Jamison.

 The RSL, DFWA and the wider ex-service community are particularly concerned that the Review:

• failed to demonstrate that future ADF members would not be worse-off under the proposed scheme;

• failed to demonstrate that future ADF members and their families would not be worse-off in the event of death and disability under the proposed scheme;

• failed to demonstrate that future ADF members would be adequately compensated for the greater risk to their superannuation entitlements inherent in the proposed scheme; and

• failed to make appropriate recommendations to address the shortcomings of current schemes (particularly issues relating to indexation of pensions).

 The full response lodged by the RSL, DFWA and supporting ex-service organisations can be downloaded from www.rsl.org.au or www.rdfwa.org.au

MEANWHILE, ON THE CONTINUING ISSUE OF MILITARY SUPERANNUATION INDEXATION

During a recent meeting with the Military Superannuation Review Team, the issue of indexation of military superannuation pension was discussed. The Review Team’s argument for not improving indexation for MSBS pensions was that they are “overly-generous” in the first place, because of the conversion factor being used. They supported the higher indexation for DFRDB pensioners over 55 years old because DFRDB pensions are generally so much less. For our part, those arguments are considered irrelevant because:

1. the MSBS conversion factors were considered appropriate when they were introduced; and

2. the issue is the preservation of relative living standards that has to be provided by the pensions.

 ACT OF GRACE REVERSIONARY SPOUSE PENSIONS

DFWA has now received advice from the Department of Finance and Deregulation about the process to be followed by claimants seeking Act of Grace reversionary spouse pension payments for spouses of military pensioners who remarried after age 60 and who died, after less than five years of marriage, between May 2006 and 1 January 2008. The advice runs to about five pages but, basically, involves completing forms that may be obtained from the ComSuper website and then submitting them to an address at the Department of Finance. DFWA Branches have been provided with copies of the full Department of Finance Advice and so can assist potential claimants.

 We are now waiting for advice on the timetable for legislative backdating of the whole process to 1 July 2003, as promised in the ALP’s Election Policies. If you know of any spouses affected by either of those changes – the Act of Grace payments or the legislative backdating - please let them know.

RESPONSES TO TWO DISCUSSION PAPERS CALLED FOR

DFWA has been asked to respond to two ministerial discussion papers by the end of the month, one on the possible roles and composition of the Prime Ministerial Advisory Council on Ex-Service Matters, the other on the Consultative Forum for the Family Study Program and the Vietnam Veterans’ Family Study. (That’s two rolled in to one.)

CLOSER COOPERATION WITH DEFENCE FAMILIES AUSTRALIA

A consistent message that came from a recent series of meetings between the National President and Defence officials and politicians was that DFWA should work closely with Defence Families Australia. The synergies and benefits are obvious, and officials from the two organisations recently met and are taking steps to do just that.

 

Media Contacts
Editor:  Les Bienkiewicz  0411 444248	RDFWA National President: David Jamison     02 6265 9530
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