Merger partner for AvSuper

Successor Fund Transfer (SFT) Update- 26 March 2024

As we draw closer to the SFT date of 1 May 2024 we continue to work with Australian Retirement Trust (ART) to ensure a smooth and successful transition.

We have planned a number of communications designed to outline the upcoming changes and what they mean for you. These are outlined below.

AvSuper Webinar

Our latest webinar was dedicated to preparing you for the SFT. We covered the investment options mapping process, changes in insurance and fees, the timeline of the final weeks and provided information regarding any actions you may need to take prior to the SFT.

Q&A

A comparison of the fees and costs from AvSuper to ART can be found in the relevant Significant Event notice (depending on your membership type). See the Important information about the Successor Fund Transfer (SFT) available at https://www.avsuper.com.au/significant-events/

Yes, grandfathering provisions for defined benefit members will be retained in ART.

We have written to all employers advising of the SFT, the Limited Services Period and how to make future contributions to ART. You could also advise your employer of the following details:

From 19 April 2024 to on or around 9 May 2024 there will be a Limited Services Period as we transfer member and account data to ART’s administration system and ART establishes account data on its systems. Transactions or requests received after 19 April 2024 and prior to 30 April 2024 will generally not be processed by AvSuper.

The following transactions and requests, if received by AvSuper after 19 April 2024, will be rejected altogether:

  • Super Stream requests relating to your Superannuation Guarantee (SG) payments because online functionality will be switched off. This impacts employer contributions submitted via Super Stream.
  • BPAY and EFT requests will also be switched off. This impacts SG contributions made via these mechanisms.

Where possible employers should submit SG contributions for April before 19th April 2024 to ensure they are processed by AvSuper. This is particularly important if you make quarterly contributions to ensure you meet your SG obligations and avoid any penalties.

After 1 May 2024, employers need to make all future SG contributions to ART. To do so:

  1. Employers should register as a new employer at secure.australianretirementtrust.com.au/EmployerJoinOnline. It will take 5-10 mins to create a new employer account.
  2. Once an ART employer account has been created, employers can also register to use the ART Clearing House at australianretirementtrust.com.au/clearing-house

Please note ART’s USI number is 60 905 115 063 003 and their ABN is 60 905 115 063

ART’s Defined Benefit fund will have the same contribution rate percentage as AvSuper.

No contributions will be accepted during the Limited Services Period. Employers can make SG payments for April in advance before the 19th April 2024 to be processed by AvSuper OR after 1 May 2024 to be processed by ART.

Units in AvSuper options will continue to be calculated daily throughout the Limited Services Period. Effective 1 May 2024, the balance based on AvSuper unit prices will be transferred to ART and used to purchase units in the relevant ART option. Unit prices will then be calculated daily at ART.

An Exit Statement showing your closing balance as at 30 April 2024 will be sent from AvSuper around 17 May 2024. An opening balance letter will be sent from ART in late May. The balances in these two letters will be equal.

Final fortnightly pension payments from AvSuper will be made on 19 April 2024 (brought forward from the payment due on 24 April 2024) and final monthly pension payments will be made on 11 April 2024.

Pension payments from ART will resume on or around 8 May 2024.

No contributions will be accepted during the Limited Services Period. Employers can make SG payments for April in advance before the 19th April 2024 to be processed by AvSuper OR after 1 May 2024 to be processed by ART.

Significant Event Notice

Every member was sent a Significant Event Notice (SEN) regarding the upcoming SFT.

The Significant Event Notices were sent to members between the 15th and 21st March. There are different versions of the SEN depending on your account type: Public Offer, Corporate (including Defined Benefit) and Income Stream.

Your SEN will cover the following areas in detail, including:

  • Investment options: Your AvSuper account will be transferred to the ART investment option(s) that has been determined to be the most appropriate corresponding option in ART. The SEN will detail the investment options that are available to you at ART and which AvSuper options they have been mapped to.
  • Fees and costs: A comparison table will be provided, highlighting any changes in fees and costs, with additional explanation provided.
  • Insurance Cover: Insurance fee rates under ART differ from AvSuper’s insurance fee rates. Any changes applicable to insurance cover will vary according to your account type and these will be detailed in the SEN.
  • Additional information: this includes information about pension payments (where relevant), advice services, communication preferences, third party authorities and more.

Additional ART resources

ART has launched a microsite where you will find information about the transition as it becomes available. This will include FAQs, Transfer Guides and Product Disclosure Statements.

For general information about ART, the transition and the product you be transitioned to, contact ART on 1800 076 338 or via email at avsuper_transition@art.com.au

ART will also be hosting a series of webinars from 27 March 2024 to help you understand various aspects of the transition, including:

•    Key benefits of membership in Australian Retirement Trust (ART)
•    Key dates to be aware of, and a checklist of actions you may wish, or need to consider
•    Investment options available to you within Australian Retirement Trust
•    Insurance changes and arrangements (if applicable)

About Australian Retirement Trust (ART)

As the second largest superfund in Australia, ART was created in Feb 2022 from the merger of two Queensland-based funds, QSuper and Sunsuper. At present, their member base is 2.2 million and they manage over $240 billion in members’ funds. Like AvSuper, ART offers defined benefit, accumulation and income stream accounts, and a solid performance history. ART also offers insurance and financial advice to their members and has won a number of customer service awards.

Watch the latest video below for an introduction to ART and more information on the successor fund transfer.

Frequently Asked Questions

The fundamentals haven’t changed.

As previously stated, the regulator has been encouraging smaller super funds like AvSuper to merge, with particular focus on those under $10 billion.
In an environment where the legislative change continues apace and members’ expectations continue to rise, it is apparent that AvSuper will not be able to provide the benefits of scale that larger funds can deliver over the long term.

As a result, we believe that the best course of action for members is to pursue a merger.

The proposed transition is expected to be completed on 1 May 2024. We’ll advise you if this date changes.

At this stage, we are intending to conduct a SFT, whereby existing member funds from AvSuper will automatically transfer to ART.

By law, any SFT must provide members with at least equivalent rights (although not necessarily identical) after the transfer. This means that, overall, your rights after the transfer must be as good as or better than those currently provided by your incumbent fund.

If you’re a Defined Benefit member, your Defined Benefit will continue unchanged in Aviation Super with ART on 1 May 2024. Your employer will continue to meet the administration costs in respect of your Defined Benefits.

In addition to your Defined Benefit entitlements, you may have an accumulation account, which may contain the following:

  • any additional voluntary contributions you’ve made, including contributions made by your spouse or the Government,
  • any amounts you have previously rolled into AvSuper from other superannuation funds, and
  • the investment earnings you have accrued on your additional accumulation account.

Further information will be available on ART’s microsite closer to the transition date in your Transfer Guide.

Following the completion of the transition to ART, AvSuper will close.

If you don’t wish to transition to ART, you can choose another fund and roll your account over to that fund. However, you may want to wait until more information is available closer to the transition date so you can make an informed comparison.

You don’t need to do anything at this stage. This is general information only for you to consider how the upcoming changes may impact you.

Are your details up-to-date?

To keep you up-to-date, please make sure we have your correct contact details by 19 April 2024.

Australian Retirement Trust will also be conducting webinars in late March/early April 2024 to help members understand how these changes will affect them.

We encourage you to consider if ART is right for you, compare them with your other fund(s), and make an informed choice.

Arrangements after Transition

Your regular pension payments will continue to be paid to your nominated bank account, however your pension payment dates may change. This will be communicated to you closer to the transition date.

You’ll need to verify your identity once you’re a member of ART

To ensure that ongoing legislative requirements regarding customer identification are met, you’ll need to verify your identity, to meet the Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti Money Laundering (AML) obligations, as soon as possible after the transition occurs.

You will be provided with instructions on how to do this once you’re a member of ART.

With ART, you’ll have the option to amend the payment frequency to your choice of fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annually.

Fortnightly payments will be made every second Wednesday and for other payment frequencies, payment will be made around the 11th of each month your payment is due.

You can also choose to change the amount of your pension payments, subject to minimum and maximum (if applicable) limits.

Public Offer members

To ensure your contribution arrangements are carried across to your new Super Savings account from the transition date, if you’re not employed by Airservices Australia, you’ll need to let your employer know that they must change AvSuper’s USI to the ART USI for Super Savings accounts from 1 May  2024.

Corporate members

From the transition date, current AvSuper members will have their future superannuation contributions paid to their account with ART, unless they have opted out of the transition to ART.

Any contribution arrangements you have in place with AvSuper via your employer’s payroll process, including salary sacrifice or post-tax voluntary contributions, will be carried across to your new ART.

Further information will be available closer to the transition date in your Transfer Guide.

Yes, you will be able to make voluntary contributions into your new account with ART after 1 May 2024.

Non-corporate members

If you’re currently making additional contributions to your AvSuper account, you’ll need to redirect these to your new account with ART after the transition date.

Corporate members

If you’re currently making additional contributions (other than through payroll deductions, which will continue automatically) to your AvSuper account, you’ll need to redirect these to your new account with ART after the transition date.

If you intend to ‘split’ any of your super contributions from the previous financial year or the current 2023/24 financial year into your spouse’s account, please contact us by 19 April 2024 to ensure the correct paperwork is completed. If you don’t take action by this date, your opportunity to split will be lost for contributions made prior to the transfer date.

Tax deductions for any personal super contributions to your AvSuper account or ART Super Savings account can be claimed up to 100% of eligible contributions in the period between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024.

You do not need to advise of your wish to claim a tax deduction for any personal contributions paid to AvSuper prior to the transfer date.  You will be able to provide one form for the full year that covers the contributions you have made to AvSuper and ART.

When your AvSuper account is automatically transferred to ART, your balance will be invested proportionally in the ART investment option/s that most closely match your AvSuper investment option/s in terms of asset allocation, strategy and risk, from the transition date. Your future contributions will likewise be allocated to the most similar ART options.

Further information on how your existing AvSuper account will be mapped in ART will be made available closer to the transition date.

You’ll receive a Welcome pack from ART shortly after the transition date. This will show how your balance has been invested within ART and how to alter this if you wish.

Public Offer members

When your account is transferred across to ART on 1 May 2024, you’ll be provided with insurance cover equal to the amount of cover you have in AvSuper in most cases.

Corporate members

When the new Aviation Super plan commences in ART on 1 May 2024, you’ll be provided with insurance cover that is calculated as it currently is with AvSuper.

Additional information on your insurance cover, including the options available to you, will be provided closer to the transition time, in your Significant Event Notice (SEN) and Transfer Guides.

All claims will continue to be managed under the current process. After the transfer, ART will be responsible for administering claims.

If you have made a “binding” beneficiary nomination in AvSuper, this will be carried across to ART as a binding beneficiary nomination. This means you have control over who the Trustee will pay your death benefits to.

If you have a “non-binding” beneficiary nomination in AvSuper, this will be carried across to ART as a preferred beneficiary nomination. This means it will only be used as a guide, and ultimately the Trustee of ART will decide how to pay your death benefits.

For Income stream members

If you have made a “reversionary” beneficiary nomination in AvSuper, this will be carried across to ART as a reversionary beneficiary nomination. This means you have control over who the Trustee will pay your death benefits to.

This is general information only. ART will provide further information tailored to your situation and work with you through more complex situations closer to the transition date.

Additional information, Product Disclosure Documents , forms and guides, will be available throughout the period of transition. You’ll be notified when these will be available on ART’s microsite.

ART will also be running webinars in late March/early April 2024. Keep an eye out for your invitation from them in mid-March 2024.

Questions?

For information about your current AvSuper account contact us on 1300 128 751 or email avsinfo@avsuper.com.au

For general information about ART and the transition contact ART on 1800 076 338 or email avsuper_transition@art.com.au.