Industry body reinforces freedom to choose super fund

It said the amendment should be that all employees on existing or expired agreements must be granted choice of fund by a certain date “to provide certainty to employers and ensure workers are not disadvantaged”.

At recent Senate Economics Committee hearings, FSC chief executive Sally Loane reinforced the notion of removing restrictions on choice in superannuation.

“Up to one million Australians currently do not have the option to have superannuation payments made into a fund of their choosing,” Ms Loane said.

“Some of these people will be effectively locked into a poorly performing fund simply because of where they work, while others will be forced to hold multiple accounts, and have their balances eroded by duplicate fees.

“There is no justification for preventing them from choosing a superannuation fund.”

Further, Ms Loane said a compulsory superannuation system should not create situations where members are required to go to these lengths to work around outdated policy settings and manage their own money.

“We know most Australians don’t engage with their superannuation and will remain with their default fund — more reforms are needed to ensure all Australians are defaulted once into high-quality default fund,” she said.

“However, for those individuals who want to choose, they should have the freedom to manage their superannuation as they wish.”