As the superannuation industry prepares for implementation of the new choice of fund regime, the latest Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT) data has pointed to the fact that some of the most basic issues are causing the deepest unhappiness among fund members.
The SCT dealt with 468 new complaints in the December quarter, down only slightly (3.2 per cent) from the previous three month period.
The Tribunal said complaints about disability benefits accounted for 36.7 per cent of all cases, followed by death benefits (28.4 per cent), administration (14.3 per cent), and account balance/benefit calculations (7 per cent).
At the same time as issuing these figures, the SCT issued a warning to superannuation fund trustees that they should not seek to tamper with the so-called “claim staking procedure” when dealing with death benefits under the Superannuation (Resolution of Complaints) Act.
The Tribunal’s chairman, Graham McDonald used the organisation’s bulletin to warn that some “well-meaning” trustees have been agreeing, either orally or in writing, to extend the 29 day time limit in which a person can object to a trustee’s determination relating to the payment of death benefits.
“However, by doing this, the trustee loses the protection of the claim staking procedure,” McDonald said.
“As 28 days is set down in legislation, if a trustee consents to receive an objective after the 28 days from a potential beneficiary, the Tribunal can later accept a complaint from that person,” he said.
McDonald said that if trustees wanted to rely on the claim-staking procedure when paying out death benefits, they needed to be careful not to extend the 28 day time limit.
The SCT also used its bulletin to warn trustees and insurers about talking privately to each other during a conciliation conference to understand the other’s attitudes and expectations regarding the claim.
“This wastes valuable time for the complainant and Tribunal staff,” McDonald said. “The Tribunal understands that a trustee and insurer might wish to confer briefly during conciliation, for instance, about a particular counter offer. However, the primary purpose of a conciliation conference is to try to resolve complaints between a complainant and a trustee/ insurer.
“It is therefore important that trustees and insurers discuss complaints and possible settlement offers before the conciliation conference,” he said.
