Financial Services Minister Kelly O'Dwyer's frustration is palpable. The superannuation and insurance industries developed a code about how life insurance should be dealt with inside the retirement savings system, but it was only voluntary and failed to deal with the plight of younger savers who were forced to take out life insurance, but who had far lower claims rates. No matter than many of the larger super funds had already signed up to the code. It offered too little.

"I am not going to wait for the industry to do this. I gave them a chance to fix it and they didn't. I wasn't going to hang around and wait for five years while they talked among themselves," Ms O'Dwyer said yesterday.