Last financial year over 2,700 superannuation account complaints were made to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), partly because of impacts felt by the Protecting Your Super (PYS) and the Putting Members’ Interests First (PMIF) legislations.
These complaints included disputes about the cancellations of insurance policies where a complainant was unaware their policy had been cancelled.
This was because of a range of reasons, as AFCA pointed out, including impacts from the PYS and PMIF legislations or there being insufficient member funds to pay premiums.
A total of 5,249 superannuation product related complaints were received by AFCA last financial year, with superannuation account complaints ranking first, followed by ‘total and permanent disability’ product complaints, which made up 978.
But overall there was a 31% drop in the number of superannuation complaints compared to the 2019-20 financial year when AFCA received 7,556 complaints.
The most common issues experienced by those lodging complaints last financial year were delays in claim handling (856 complaints), which the AFCA said frequently related to a lack of communication from the fund.
Last financial year, 6,214 superannuation complaints were closed, including 2,403 received before 1 July 2020 and AFCA took an average of 116 days to close a complaint.
Introducing reforms for strengthening simpler and faster claims handling and better servicing for First Nations members are critical priorities, according to the Super Members Council.
The Commonwealth Bank has warned that uncapped superannuation concessions may be “unsustainable” and has called for the introduction of a superannuation cap.
Superannuation funds have posted another year of strong returns, but this time, the gains weren’t powered solely by Silicon Valley.
Australia’s $4.1 trillion superannuation system is doing more than funding retirements – it’s quietly fuelling the nation’s productivity, lifting GDP, and adding thousands to workers’ pay packets, according to new analysis from the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA).