Following recent speculation that the Future Fund could be designated as a public offer super fund as a default fund, a former Treasury official has found that workers could end up $124,000 worse off at retirement if they were in the Future Fund rather than some industry super funds.
Phil Gallagher found a performance difference of 13.6 per cent of workers’ retirement benefit, based on a salary of $80,000 pa, or $124,850 between average top quartile industry fund pension options and the Future Fund.
According to Industry Super Australia (ISA), Bernie Dean, this showed the Future Fund was not a viable option for workers’ superannuation.
“We need to find ways of connecting workers with quality super funds, not find new ways for them to end up with less in their accounts,” Dean said.
“The extent of the loss calculated under the Future Fund scenario suggests ideology is blinding some to the best ways to put members’ interests first.
“The Productivity Commission has ignored the evidence and recommended a flawed scheme, and, now, people are suggesting we consign workers to an underperforming government-run fund.”
Gallagher, who was also ISA’s special retirement income adviser, based the analysis on super funds’ performance over the last seven years, the Future Fund’s recent performance, and modelled retirement savings from age 30 for almost 40 years.
The Future Fund’s CIO Ben Samild has announced his resignation, with his deputy to assume the role of interim CIO.
The fund has unveiled reforms to streamline death benefit payments, cut processing times, and reduce complexity.
A ratings firm has placed more prominence on governance in its fund ratings, highlighting that it’s not just about how much money a fund makes today, but whether the people running it are trustworthy, disciplined, and able to deliver for members in the future.
AMP has reached an agreement in principle to settle a landmark class action over fees charged to members of its superannuation funds, with $120 million earmarked for affected members.