Commonwealth Essential Super (Essential Super) is pleased to announce Super Sorter, a customer centric online tool to make super consolidation easy, is live and available in NetBank.
$18 billion
Figures released recently from the ATO show the lost and ATO-held super floating around Australia’s financial system is creeping up to over $18 billion¹.
Essential Super’s online Super Sorter tool has been designed in direct response to this escalating issue. The tool prompts customers to follow a simple three step process. Customers can search for, locate, identify and, once a decision has been made, consolidate in three clicks.
“When people make the effort to sort out their finances and take the decision to consolidate their super, they want to see results there and then. With the online Super Sorter tool they can see (and confirm) the total super balance is now on the way to being in one account”, said Geoff Peck, General Manager of CFS and WM Advice Marketing.
Biggest barriers to consolidating accounts
ASFA’s consumer research² conducted late last year found that Australians believe the greatest challenges to consolidating super accounts are completing excessive paper work and differing rules/requirements.
ASFA’s research² also identified that the most common request from respondents in regards to consolidating their super was that they wanted assistance in making the process quick and easy.
“We have worked hard with our development team to produce a tool that eliminates all paperwork and makes the entire process very quick and easy – a clear and simple three phase process online, with pre-populated drop downs as short cuts to finding specific funds, is all that is involved on the customer’s end” said Mr Peck.
Some of the fees paid on lost super
“That $18 billion number alone is staggering but the thought of the total flat fees being paid in these lost or unclaimed super accounts is alarming. These fees are directly eroding the retirement savings of Australians,” said Mr Peck.
“A number of superannuation funds charge a dollar-based administration fee which, for example, may be around $1.50 per week or $78 per year. When you compound that across four or five accounts, you are looking at around $312 to $390 per year in administration fees alone. Customers need to realise they can reduce the amount of admin fees or ‘empty dollars’ they are paying by simple consolidating into one super account. They are then able to use the amount saved to add to their retirement savings which they then go on to earn an investment return on.
“There is a particular example we have seen in our customer base where a 21 year old member of Essential Super has 11 different super accounts already. This is a poignant reminder of the potential long term ramifications of not consolidating super accounts; this member has at least another 40 years of working before they retire so that’s a significant amount of unnecessary fees they will pay across their multiple super funds over their working life.” said Mr Peck.
The online Super Sorter tool is available in NetBank for Commonwealth Essential Super customers.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.