Jeremy Cooper joins SMSF Association Public Policy Committee

The appointment of Jeremy Cooper, the Chairman of Retirement Income at Challenger Limited, to the SMSF Association’s Public Policy Committee is testimony to our commitment to have the right policy settings for retirement income, superannuation and financial services, says CEO John Maroney.

“The decision to invite Jeremy to join the committee continues the tradition of looking outside our own membership ranks to ensure we get the expertise, knowledge and experience to make a valuable contribution to the policy debate. [Former Labor Parliamentary Secretary Bernie Ripoll joined the committee in March 2017.]

“Their skills complement the six other committee members from the Association’s board, senior executive management and membership, guaranteeing the diversity of views so necessary for good public policy.”

Cooper’s wide-ranging career, which spans more than three decades, includes corporate and M&A work for the law firm Ashurst, five years as Deputy Chair of ASIC, a year as Chair of a comprehensive review of Australia’s superannuation system (Cooper Review), and more than seven years at Challenger, where he has focussed on retirement income research, public policy issues and thought leadership.

Hs has also contributed to the public debate via his roles at the Financial Services Institute of Australasia, the Australian Centre for Financial Studies, and the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia.

Cooper says: “While chairing the review of the superannuation system nearly a decade ago, I came to appreciate both the importance of self-managed super funds and the critical role the SMSF Association plays in advocating for this sector and the broader superannuation industry.

“I am looking forward to playing a public policy role at a time when we are about to see a majority of the assets in the SMSF in pension mode. It will be critically important to get the policy settings right as we enter into this new chapter of the system’s evolution.”