The next phase of the Federal Government’s Your Future, Your Super reforms is now in effect. The package introduced new rules aimed at improving the superannuation system for all Australians.
For your benefit we have developed a video explaining the reforms, your obligations, and helpful ‘how-to’ steps in greater detail below.
The Your Future, Your Super reforms aim to reduce the creation of duplicate accounts when workers start new jobs. From 1 November 2021, new employees will be ‘stapled’ to their existing super fund, unless they choose a different fund. First-time entrants to the workforce will be ‘stapled’ to the first super fund they join. This may be a fund they have explicitly chosen, or the default fund used by their first employer. This account will then follow them from job to job unless they actively choose another fund.
Employers still need to meet their super choice obligations by offering choice of fund to eligible employees by providing a super choice form. Where a new employee chooses their own fund, this will override the stapling provisions, and super must be paid to the employee’s chosen fund. The updated ATO Superannuation Standard Choice form can be found in the 'Helpful resources for employers' section below.
If the new employee does not choose a fund for their super to be paid into, employers will need to check with the ATO for an existing stapled fund. If the employee has a stapled fund, super must be paid into that identified fund.
Another measure central to the legislation is the introduction of an annual performance test for super funds. The test measures the net investment returns of MySuper products against benchmarks and will have ramifications for underperforming super funds.
Hostplus is pleased to report that we have passed the industry regulator’s latest MySuper performance test.
The changes have also introduced a Best Financial Interests Duty (BFID) that requires all super fund trustees to perform their duties and exercise their powers in the best financial interests of fund members.
The tool has been developed by the Australian Tax Office and is based on independent information from the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority, known as APRA . The YourSuper comparison tool ranks MySuper products based on the competitiveness of their fees and investment returns. It’s important to note that the investment returns shown in the comparison tool are net of all fees and taxes, which means fees have already been accounted for when looking at the net performance figure for each product.
We have compiled a range of helpful resources of important forms. The ATO webpage contains all the current information on stapling of super for employers including a recorded webcast, stapled super funds Reference Guide, and information on when and how to submit a stapled super fund request via the ATO.
The information contained on this website is general advice only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider if this information is appropriate for you in light of your circumstances before acting on it. Please read the relevant Hostplus Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) or Hostplus SMI PDS before making a decision about Hostplus. For a description of the target market, please read the Target Market Determination (TMD), available here.