12 March 2025
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has commenced proceedings into AustralianSuper’s handling of death benefit claims.
We are considering ASIC's claim carefully and will respond on the substance of the claim in due course.
Paying out members’ retirement savings after they die is the final service we provide them. During COVID, a sharp increase in member deaths and a significant impact of the pandemic on staffing numbers saw a backlog relating to the processing of death claims emerge.
We recognised this and developed a strategy with our service provider to clear the backlog of claims. Despite some improvement, we were not satisfied the backlog was reducing fast enough so we made the significant decision to bring the processing of death claims in house. Bringing this function in house strengthens our ability to deliver this important service efficiently and empathetically.
AustralianSuper is fundamentally transforming how we deliver member services. We are part way through a $120 million investment in service improvements, including bringing operations in house that require high care and empathy.
Since our in-house Bereavement Centre was launched in April 2024 with 75 dedicated case managers handling death claims from start to finish, we have seen a significant reduction in claim processing times.
We welcome the regulator’s industry-wide attention on this matter.
For media enquiries, please contact
Sam Prenesti
M: +61 438 012 162
E: sprenesti@australiansuper.com
About AustralianSuper
AustralianSuper manages more than $365 billion in members’ retirement savings on behalf of more than 3.5 million members from more than 472,000 businesses (as at 31 December 2024).
This media release may include general financial advice which doesn’t take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before making a decision consider if the information is right for you and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement, available at australiansuper.com/pds. A Target Market Determination (TMD) is a document that outlines the target market a product has been designed for. Find the TMDs at australiansuper.com/tmd.
AustralianSuper Pty Ltd ABN 94 006 457 987, AFSL 233788, Trustee of AustralianSuper ABN 65 714 394 898.