Australia's corporate watchdog has issued a blunt ultimatum to the nation's $4.5 trillion pension fund industry: modernise infrastructure now or risk a systemic collapse similar to the recent failures seen at the ASX.
Speaking at the Conexus Forum on Feb. 4, ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant warned that the "superannuation" sector is on a trajectory to hit $6 trillion by 2030.
At this scale, the industry will eclipse the domestic banking system in size, making its operational resilience a matter of national economic security.
Constant stressed that many funds are currently ill-equipped to handle the looming "retirement wall," as an estimated 2.5 million Australians prepare to transition from accumulation to drawing down their savings over the next decade.