Western Australians less engaged with their super fund: ART

Research by one of Australia’s largest superannuation funds has found over half of Western Australians have not made an active choice with their fund and a quarter are likely to have multiple accounts. 

In a survey of over 2,000 Australians, 68 per cent of Western Australians said they have not made an active choice with their super. Some 22 per cent are likely to have multiple super accounts.

In comparison, 16 per cent of people in Victoria, 15 per cent in NSW, and 12 per cent in Victoria are likely to have numerous accounts. 

“This survey highlights that Western Australians are on average less engaged with their super fund than other states,” said Anne Fuchs, acting chief of retirement at ART. 

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“Having multiple super accounts means you may be paying multiple sets of administration fees, investment fees and insurance premiums.

“It is important that you consider the benefits available to you in your super funds and consider which ones are right for you. Bringing your accounts together and making an active choice on your investment and insurance arrangements could save you money and simplify your super, making a huge difference at retirement.”

She highlighted there are plenty of easy ways to consolidate super online, including through the super fund or via the myGov website. 

According to Australian Taxation Office data, some 3 million people have two or more super accounts that include members who are holding duplicate accounts within the same fund.

In June, ASIC highlighted super trustees are demonstrating poor practices in both industry and retail funds when it comes to consolidating member accounts. 

ASIC’s review of nine trustees found three of the nine trustees lack documented business rules for identifying and consolidating multiple accounts on an annual basis across some or all of their funds. The others had rules and policies in place, with annual checks, however, ASIC found that some trustees had rules that excluded certain cohorts of members when it should apply to all fund members. 

Following ASIC’s engagement, all nine trustees have, or will have, documented processes that apply to all members. Five trustees are undertaking the matching process on a monthly basis or moving to do and three more are undertaking it at least quarterly. 

This is not the first time that members in Western Australia have been singled out for their super activities with research by Industry Super Australia last year finding 29 per cent of the Western Australian workforce were short-changed on their super in 2018–19, losing an average of $1,810.

This was the result of employers paying super quarterly rather than with wages.