Australians in dispute with banks, insurers, super funds, investment firms and financial advisers lodged 72,358 complaints with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) in the past 12 months, a rise of 3% on the previous financial year.
Overall, the number of licensed financial firms with a complaint lodged against them was 5% lower than in the previous 12 months at 1,628.
In superannuation, service quality topped the list of most-common complaints made to AFCA at 774, up from 517 in FY21.
Delays in claim handling was second with 737 complaints, down from 856 in FY21 while account administration error was third (506 complaints, up from 487), denial of claim was fourth (438 complaints, down from 517) and claim amount was fifth (342 complaints, down from 362).
Looking at complaints received by product line, super remained unchanged from FY21 at 7% of complaints.
The number of super complaints resolved early, at registration and referral stage, was unchanged from FY21 at 33% while the percentage resolved by agreement between parties was down from 62% in FY21 to 54%.
AFCA’s chief ombudsman, David Locke, said he was pleased to see that, overall, half of all the complaints that reached AFCA were resolved quickly, at the earliest stage of its process. Altogether, 67% of complaints were resolved by agreement between the parties.
New research has shown Australians are retiring at their oldest age in over 50 years.
The $300 billion fund has announced the development of a new flexible lifetime income option in partnership with TAL.
As regulators spur funds to focus on Australia’s ageing population and overseas players voice their interests, professionals expect a boost in innovative activity in super.
Over half of Australians hope to live to 100 years, according to MetLife, and 90 per cent believe retirement should be redefined to account for a longer lifespan.
That intra-fund advice system is going gang-busters lol. Time we got rid of the annual fee renewal consent forms (red tape that doesn't exist in any nation on earth) so that retail advisers can service millions more Australians far more efficiently.
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