Australia’s most complained about super funds

By Grace Ormsby

November 08 2019
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With superannuation comprising one in 10 complaints to the newly formed Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), nestegg can reveal the five fund options that have given Australians the most grief over the past year.

All figures relate to the period from 1 November 2018 to 30 June 2019.

1. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd

Of all of Australia’s superannuation offerings, AustralianSuper had the most complaints lodged against it by AFCA between November 2018 and June 2019 (the period for which the data is available for), with a total of 227 complaints.

It had closed 122 of them by the end of June.

Sixty-three of the complaints were resolved by agreement, one in favour of the complainant, and 16 were resolved in AustralianSuper’s favour.

More than 60 per cent of all complaints related to account administration, while 22 per cent related to group life insurance.

More than 15 per cent of the complaints also related to death benefits distribution.

2. AMP Superannuation Limited

AMP’s position in the list incorporated its brands including the AMP Eligible Rollover Fund, the AMP Retirement Trust and the AMP Superannuation Savings Trust.

AMP Superannuation saw 193 complaints progress through the AFCA framework in the eight-month period, with 99 of them closed.

Almost seven in 10 complaints (69.9 per cent) related to account administration, while one in five related to AMP’s administration of group life insurance.

Death benefits distribution complaints comprised a further 12.2 per cent of complaints.

AFCA indicated that 28 of the total complaints were resolved by agreement, while just one was resolved in favour of the complainant.

A further 14 complaints were resolved in favour of AMP.

3. Nulis Nominees (Australia) Limited

A number of superannuation funds make up the Nulis brand: DPM Retirement Service, MLC Pooled Superannuation Trust, MLC Super Fund, MLC Superannuation Fund, and Premiumchoice Retirement Service.

It received 155 complaints over the period, with 59 resolved by agreement and two complaints resolved in favour of the complainant.

Only three complaints were resolved in favour of Nulis.

Just over 60 per cent of complaints related to account administration, while 27.2 per cent related to group life insurance.

Death benefits distribution comprised just under 10 per cent of total complaints.

4. Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd

Also known as Rest or Rest Super, Retail Employees Superannuation Trust saw 140 complaints progressed against it.

It saw 53 such complaints resolved by agreement.

None appeared to be resolved in favour of the complainant, but six others were resolved in favour of Rest.

A breakdown by complaint type saw one of the most equal spreads of complaints across the super funds listed here.

Account administration accounted for 41.5 per cent of complaints, group life insurance accounted for 35.9 per cent of complaints and death benefits distribution accounted for 21.8 per cent of all complaints.

5. OnePath Custodians Pty Limited

The smallest business to make the top five, OnePath is also known as ING Custodians, OnePath Masterfund, and Retirement Portfolio Service.

It had 83 complaints lodged against it that were progressed, with 22 resolved by agreement, one resolved in favour of the complainant and two complaints resolved in OnePath’s favour.

More than half of all OnePath complaints related to its administration of accounts (54.1 per cent).

Group life insurance complaints accounted for a further 31.8 per cent, while death benefits distribution saw 7 per cent of the complaints.

Out of the top five most complained about super funds, OnePath also saw the largest proportion of complaints relate to its deliverance of pensions.

Want a breakdown of all 73,272 complaints about financial services lodged with AFCA in the last 12 months? Click here.

About the author

Grace Ormsby

Grace is a journalist on Momentum Media's nestegg. She enjoys being able to provide easy to digest information and practical tips for Australians with regard to their wealth, as well as having a platform on which to engage leading experts and commentators and leverage their insight.

About the author

Grace Ormsby

Grace is a journalist on Momentum Media's nestegg. She enjoys being able to provide easy to digest information and practical tips for Australians with regard to their wealth, as well as having a platform on which to engage leading experts and commentators and leverage their insight.

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