POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
Super funds hiding behind the rules: Superannuation Complaints Tribunal
The chairperson of the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal, Jocelyn Furlan, has strongly criticised super funds for trying to use superannuation rules as a fig leaf when dealing with member complaints.
In an address to the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees client services symposium in Melbourne, Furlan brought a case study in which a member complained about defined benefit calculations that left him worse off, and the superannuation fund tried to defend itself by claiming the benefit had been calculated according to the rules.
That response didn't deal with the substantive issue at hand, Furlan said.
"That's not what this complaint is about. We know his benefit was defined in accordance with the rules, and yet we get it over and over again," Furlan said.
Superannuation funds should be either compromising, settling the complaint, or making an offer to the member, rather than claiming there was nothing they could do, Furlan said.
Furlan also scolded superannuation funds for not doing enough to rectify misrecorded client information.
11 per cent of all client service complaints were about information that was repeatedly not being recorded properly, she said.
"We shouldn't be getting those complaints. They should be being dealt with by you at fund level," she said.
The most common complaint from members (17 per cent) was failing to understand how their defined benefit was calculated, or that it was wrong, Furlan said.
Many members do not understand what is going on with the benefit, and they don't know how it's calculated, she said.
Furlan questioned what disclosure plans super funds have in place for their baby boomers as they get to retirement.
"They're feeling very financially vulnerable as they get to retirement," she said.
AUTHOR
Staff Writer
Money Management staff writers are writers who contribute to the website from time to time. If you would like to discuss the content contained within this article please contact us.
Recommended for you
The two funds have announced the signing of a non-binding MOU to explore a potential merger.
The board must shift its focus from managing inflation to stimulating the economy with the trimmed mean inflation figure edging closer to the 2.5 per cent target, economists have said.
ASIC chair Joe Longo says superannuation trustees must do more to protect members from misconduct and high-risk schemes.
Super fund mergers are rising, but poor planning during successor fund transfers has left members and employers exposed to serious risks.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
88.01 3 y p.a(%)
2
Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
72.60 3 y p.a(%)
3
Global X GlobalX FANG+ ETF
44.46 3 y p.a(%)
4
Pengana High Conviction Equities B
39.12 3 y p.a(%)
5
Pengana High Conviction Equities A
39.05 3 y p.a(%)
