Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has assured Australians the review of the nation's retirement income system won't result in a push to raise the pension age.

But his Labor counterpart Jim Chalmers is concerned the examination of superannuation, asset ownership and the age pension announced on Friday is a forerunner to cuts to retirement incomes.

"If the government was serious about this retirement incomes review they wouldn't have dropped it out on the eve of grand final weekend hoping nobody would notice," Dr Chalmers told reporters at Sydney airport on Saturday.

Mr Frydenberg was asked if lifting the pension age to 70 was back on the cards, answering: "No, it's not."

"What we're focusing on is again developing an evidence based approach to future policy decisions," he told reporters in Melbourne after attending the AFL final breakfast.

"We haven't changed our position, the position still remains."

Back in September 2018, a newly installed prime minister Scott Morrison dumped a plan to raise the pension age to 70, a proposal that had been put forward by former treasurer Joe Hockey in his controversial 2014 budget.

The review has been expected since the Productivity Commission recommended it in a report released earlier this year.

Under the terms of reference, the review will look at the interaction between the age pension, compulsory superannuation and voluntary savings including home ownership.

The review will conclude in June 2020.

"This government has form when it comes to cutting the pension, attacking super and following the whims of the extremists on their backbench," Dr Chalmers warned.

"This government wants to take compulsory out of compulsory super."

There is pressure from a rump of Liberal backbench MPs to scrap the legislated increase in the compulsory superannuation guarantee from 9.5 to 12 per cent.

But Mr Frydenberg insists the government has no plans to abandon the legislated incremental increases to 12 per cent by 2025, starting with a rise to 10 per cent in 2021.

This schedule was already delayed seven years by Mr Hockey from an original plan made by Labor.

Mr Frydenberg said the government's aim is to not only put more money into the pockets of hard working Australians, but also retired and senior Australians

"It was Labor who took to the election a retirees tax which was going to punish senior Australians, particularly those who had provision for their own retirement," he said in reference to Labor's proposal to scrap the franking credits regime.

Dr Chalmers was en route to delivering a keynote speech in Bathurst on Saturday night, where he will concede Labor won't win the 2022 federal election by sticking to the policies that left it wanting in the 2019 election.