Around 54% of employers are not aware of the Your Future, Your Super (YFYS) and ‘stapling’ legislative changes that come into effect in November, according to a joint CSBA and Fund Executives Association Limited (FEAL) report.
The latest results of the CSBA FEAL Superannuation CX Benchmarking report, comprised responses from 8,355 individual fund members from 26 superannuation funds, as well as responses from 1,155 employers.
Of those employers surveyed who were aware about the upcoming legislative changes, more than 65% looked to their funds for information and clarification regarding the new legislation and their obligations.
One employer who was surveyed said he assumed the stapling was between the employer and the ATO and asked for more support to better support the changes.
Another employer said: “Some background on what it actually is, and the impact on the employer to be compliant, and anything to give to employees would be fantastic”.
The survey also found that members who had recent contact with their fund continued to rate the fund higher across key customer experience metrics. They were also less likely to indicate intention to switch funds, compared to those members without recent fund contact.
Looking more closely at members who had recent contact with their fund, the study found a number of demographic segments consistently rating funds lower. These included younger members (aged under 55), those with default investment mix and newer fund members (less than five years).
CSBA customer experience director of finance, Sam Monteath, said the report showed a lot of room for super funds to improve on amplifying value and sharpening their communication with specific customer types.
“In a rapidly-moving industry landscape, legislative changes such as YFYS are critical conversation openers for customer engagement. If you haven’t proactively contacted your employers or members to explain how YFYS impacts them, it is a missed opportunity to add value and deepen your relationships,” said Monteath.
“Importantly, we know that the younger member cohort, who are likely to be most impacted by ‘stapling’ within YFYS, typically do not actively engage with their fund, rate their fund lower across key CX metrics, and are more likely to switch funds in the next 12 months.”
When members were asked if they were more or less likely to stay with their fund long term as a result of ‘stapling’, 52% of older members said the legislation would not affect their likelihood to stay compared to 37% for younger members.
