Reducing complexity and duplication for superannuation members

It’s been a little over a decade since intra-fund consolidation legislation was introduced in 2013, requiring trustees of superannuation (super) funds to monitor and consolidate – on at least an annual basis – multiple member accounts. However, implementation and administration of the legislation is complex – super trustees are required to undertake detailed analysis to identify, and then contact members with multiple accounts to assess whether their accounts should (or should not) be consolidated. Adding to the complexity, since 2018, the super industry has undergone a significant transformation – driven by reviews such as the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, by regulatory change such as the introduction of member outcomes, the best financial interest duty and account stapling, and by significant events, such as the global COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing industry consolidation through fund mergers. 

Recently, intra-fund consolidation has been under the regulator’s spotlight, with ASIC conducting a thematic review into trustees’ intra-fund consolidation practices, finding that trustees are “not doing enough” to proactively merge duplicate member accounts,¹ and taking enforcement action against trustees found to have breached their intra-fund consolidation obligations. 

Our latest report dives into the key findings from ASIC’s thematic review, and explores what super fund trustees can do to improve compliance with their intra-fund consolidation options, and ultimately, help deliver better financial outcomes for their members over the long term.

Source:

1. ASIC (2023): ASIC warns super trustees to boost efforts to consolidate duplicate member accounts