From 29 January this year, industry super fund AustralianSuper has been offering Qantas Frequent Flyer members who join AustralianSuper for the first time, and contribute $350 within the first six months of joining, 20,000 Qantas points.
AustralianSuper made it clear on its website that only members who joined through a specific page on its website before 5 May 2019 would be eligible, with members who choose to join “through another channel” ineligible for the offer.
Members, it said, will receive the 20,000 Qantas points two to three months after the minimum contribution amount is made.
The industry super fund also stated that members with an existing account with AustralianSuper would be “ineligible for this offer”.
The AustralianSuper website also states that “if for any reason this offer is not capable of running as planned, AustralianSuper reserves the right in its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend [the] offer”.
Members who join the fund by opening a transition to retirement income account, it states, are also ineligible.
The offer coincides with an announcement by AustralianSuper on 29 January that it would increase its administration fees from $1.50 a week up to $2.25 a week, a 50 per cent increase.
The fee increase will apply from the end of March.
AustralianSuper group executive Paul Schroder said members with a $50,000 balance were paying administration and investment costs of $397 in 2019, while members with $100,000 balances were paying $617 in 2019.
“For almost a decade, the administration fee hasn’t changed, while costs to operate the fund have continued to increase,” he said.
“This change is about ensuring AustralianSuper can continue to provide members with the products, benefits and services needed to help them achieve the best possible retirement outcomes.”
I remember an SMSF promoter offering free holidays to Bali not too many years ago as a promo to set up a SMSF.
ASIC went to town on them !!!!!!! and so they should have.
Will ASIC do anything to Australian Super ???? my guess will be nothing to see here folks the Industry Funds can do no wrong.
guys seriously, you should know by now, the one that has money, (we know who is in it) makes the rules and breaks the rules. Just do your thing and do it right.
have a wonderful day.
Royal Commission – same should apply
Do remuneration and incentive policies that reward financial advisers for
revenue generated for a licensee or employer create an unacceptable risk that
financial advisers will prioritise the generation of revenue over the licensee’s
obligations to provide financial services in a manner that is efficient, honest and
fair, their obligation to act in the best interests of the customer and to prioritise
the interests of the customer above their own interests and the interests of the
licensee? (Q 7)
21. A remuneration or incentive arrangement which rewards a financial adviser for
generating revenue from customers creates a conflict of interest31. Where the
revenue varies according to the advice given, the adviser may be influenced to
give advice by reference to that revenue objective, rather than the best interests
of the customer. The more the remuneration of the adviser depends upon revenue
generation, the greater the risk that that arrangement will influence the advice
given and the less acceptable will be that risk.
Anyone seen the adds for GuildSuper and their rewards program…. another attempt to persuade members to join their fund, with no regard to ascertain if that is in their best interest.
website and what hey say below.
https://supersuper.com.au/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI19-4gZW34AIVQg4rCh0bXg5SEAAYASAAEgJsMvD_BwE
SUPERSUPER is a shop-and-save super rewards program. SUPERSUPER lets you add more to your super every day without having to do anything extra.
We’ve teamed up with hundreds of retailers to offer cash rewards that are added to your superannuation account. You can shop your favourite brands and retire richer. So keep doing what you’re doing, and get more super.
I wonder if I (as an SMSF Accountant) advertised on my website “Setup an SMSF and get rewarded with discounted shopping deals and free flybuys points” how that would go down with ASIC.
Guys…..its ok when a big player does something like this, i don’t know what all the fuss is about, surely you are all old enough to know how the world works……… pathetic.
What if a Self-Managed Superfund offered Frequent Flyer Points to Members? Surely the regulators would not allow this! So why is it allowed in an industry fund?
All I can say is WTF…..this is becoming a circus
This is wrong on so many levels. First the Corporations Act, incentivising a switch for a free flight with no review of current insurances and benefits. Imagine if a SMSF adviser did that – all hell would break loose at ASIC. Secondly the sole purpose test provides that a Trustee cannot pay benefits unless a condition of release is met. Surely this is a breach of the sole purpose test?
I agree entirely. This is clearly a breach of s62 of the SIS Act at so many levels. If this is allowed then there will be a series of Industry Funds lining up to do it – and people making superannuation decisions based on FF points rather than what is best for their retirement savings.
It’s a cost of obtaining new members, same as paying for a TV ad. So if normal advertising is OK and can pass the sole purpose test, then this should too. The benefit isn’t getting paid directly from the members own account – for example I’ve joined and made the initial $350 deposit, and will get 20,000 QFF pts worth ‘around’ $200 without reducing my account balance. Once the QFF pts arrive in 2-3 months I’ll close the account, having paid the $35 exit fee and about $25 in weekly admin fees, and I’ll have made a ‘profit’ of around $160 on my $350 investment. A return of around 200% pa 😉 I’ll then just roll the $350 over into my existing SMSF.
Of course the funding for this promotion comes out of the marketing budget (hence one of the reasons the admin fee is being increased), so I wouldn’t be too happy if I was a long-term Australian Super member. Like most of the ’empire building’ advertising campaigns run by industry super funds, it is more about building up membership of industry super funds (as a means to support the ailing union movement) than it is about providing a benefit to existing fund members. Given the size of industry super funds, it would be hard to imagine the marginal increase in membership provides sufficient gains via economies of scale to offset the cost of these marketing campaigns.
And by the time you factor in your time doing all this BS you will be out of pocket.
You are a clown and i hope the SCAM / SCHEME is shut down before it fly’s and you have wasted your own time.
Ha ha
Industry funds escaped the RC when they should have been scrutinised due to conflicts of interest, fees for no service, how does sponsoring a sporting team benefit members ? etc etc
Now a member can get a personal benefit from super before a condition of release!
What a joke, I had to laugh.
How can Frequent Flyer points not breach the Sole Purpose test ????
Surely they are a benefit from super pre preservation age for accumulators.
This better not fly !!!!