Super Savings accounts (the former Sunsuper for life product)
We are pleased to advise that Australian Retirement Trust has committed to reducing the fixed weekly administration fee for Super Savings accounts to $1.20 per week (with no changes to the percentage-based administration fee).
Super Savings – Business and Super Savings – Corporate accounts
We are also pleased to advise that Australian Retirement Trust have committed to ensuring the fixed weekly administration fee for Business and Corporate accounts is no higher than $1.20 per week (with no changes to the percentage-based administration fee for most members). This means that if your employer plan has a weekly fixed administration fee higher than $1.20, it will reduce to this amount from 1 July 2022. If your employer plan has a fixed weekly administration fee of $1.20 or below, your fee arrangements won’t change at 1 July 2022.
This fee reduction is subject to confirmation by the Trustee of Australian Retirement Trust. Australian Retirement Trust will contact members again before 1 July 2022 to confirm the fee reduction.
A Changes to your employer plan in Australian Retirement Trust factsheet and the Important information booklet for members are available on employer microsites.
The booklet is also available at australianretirementtrust.com.au/merger
Super industry consolidation: pace accelerates but deal size falls
The pace of consolidation in the super industry increased in 2021, but the size of the deals was lower than those reported in 2020’s trend for ‘mega-mergers’, KPMG’s Australian Superannuation Industry Merger Insights 2021 sector report has found.
There were 15 mergers/alliances announced to the market in the year to October 2021 – the most activity ever seen in a single year. But following the activity of 2019-20, which was characterised by large-scale, like-for-like, fund mergers, 2021 saw a greater number of smaller funds consolidate into Australia’s largest incumbent superannuation funds.
In 2020, the report shows the average size of transferring fund was $38bn. In 2021, that shrank to just $4bn. By contrast the average receiving fund size in 2021 was $76bn, up from $44bn in 2020, illustrating the trend to large funds consolidating with smaller ones.
What does ASIC’s RG271 mean for Australian Retirement Trust?
On 5 October 2021, ASIC’s Regulatory Guide 271 Internal dispute resolution (RG271) came into effect. RG271 prescribed new standards and requirements with respect to internal dispute resolution arrangements or commonly known as complaints.
What does this mean for Australian Retirement Trust?
In response to RG271, we uplifted our feedback and complaint operating rhythms to cultivate an organisational culture that welcomes feedback and values complaints. Identifying and recording signs of dissatisfaction is the responsibility of everyone at Australian Retirement Trust.
While Australian Retirement Trust already had processes in place to address, investigate, and resolve complaints, we recognised and acknowledged that additional improvements to our processes could drive more tailored and stronger outcomes for our customers.
In response to the anticipated changes to our reporting obligations, we created a standalone project group. The project brought together subject matter experts from across the organisation to contribute to seven streams of legislative and reporting change. These changes include internal dispute resolution, fee and cost disclosures, data reporting, payment times reporting and Financial Sector reforms.
Benefits to members
The delivery of this project brought significant benefits to our people and members including an uplift to reporting, and increased efficiencies with a reduction of manual effort to produce reports.
We have successfully uplifted our existing complaints management system, which provides more detailed complaints data for review, and in turn helps us to continue to improve our services and systems. The richness of this complaints data will help us to continue to improve across the key areas that are important to our members