A senior partner at retail super fund Mercer has called for a rethink on superannuation, saying legislation is needed to help retirees maintain their standard of living once they begin drawing on super and the Age Pension.

Dr David Knox, senior partner at Mercer and Senior Actuary for Australia, has told the Australian Financial Review that the purpose of super – which the Government has indicated it wishes to legislate – should be to ensure that those accessing it can keep up their quality of life.

David (pictured) suggested that the Government legislate for middle-income earners to continue to receive around 66 to 70% of their income from the last few years before they retired, using a combination of their super and the Age Pension.

“For middle- and higher-income earners and those with more wealth, I think the primary purpose of the system should be to enable retirees to maintain their previous standards of living over the last 10 or 15 years.

“Superannuation funds need to have a stronger focus on retirement income ... it’s not about accumulating the biggest balance or whether you’ve got $100,000 or $500,000, we need to convert that into ‘what does that mean for retirement income’,” he said.

The Government has already begun legislating super reforms, including a measure in the October Budget that allowed downsizers over 55 to contribute home sale proceeds to their super; previously the option was only available for over-60s.