2009 Benefit statement FAQs

Answer:
As your personal situation and expectations can change over time, we have directed you to the Super health check calculator, which you can use to predict your own personal outcome.

Answer:
The withdrawal benefit is the amount you would receive if you closed your account on the statement date of 30 June 2009 (excluding deductions for taxation and surcharge debt where applicable).

Defined Benefit account

The calculation of the withdrawal benefit differs depending on your age. If you are under age 55, your withdrawal benefit is the total amount of your contributions, interest on those contributions, and the Investment Linked value of your deferred retirement benefit. If you are over age 55, your withdrawal benefit is calculated as a multiple of your final average salary, based on your length of contributory service, salaries, and contribution history if your superannuation benefit had become due on 30 June 2009.

Accumulation account

The withdrawal benefit is your account balance at 30 June 2009.

Deferred retirement benefit

The withdrawal benefit is the Investment Linked option value at 30 June 2009.

Answer:
Insurance premiums are deducted quarterly from your account in arrears. Your statement reflects premiums deducted up to the March quarter. As these premiums are deducted in arrears, the transaction date shown on the statement will vary from the period of employment which it relates to.

Answer:
The Commonwealth Government removed the surcharge tax on contributions and employer eligible termination payments paid to your account from 1 July 2005. Future contributions no longer attract a surcharge debt. Any outstanding debts, however, have remained and will still have to be paid. Information on surcharge debts and what options you have with them can be found in the Superannuation surcharge guide.

Answer:
By using BPAY, you can pay a voluntary or spouse contribution directly to an Accumulation account from a cheque, savings, or debit account. If you don’t have an Accumulation account, one will automatically be opened when we receive your voluntary contribution. You’ll need to advise your bank, credit union, or building society of the biller code and client reference number provided on page 1 of your statement.

If you want to make a contribution for your spouse, you will need to provide your bank, credit union or building society with the biller code and client reference number provided on page 1 of your spouse’s statement.

If your spouse doesn’t have an Accumulation account, one needs to be opened before a contribution is made. More information about opening an account for your spouse can be found in the product disclosure statement (PDS) for the Accumulation account. You can download the PDS from our website, or call us and we’ll send you one.

More information about BPAY is available at www.bpay.com.au.

Processing times for BPAY contributions can be at least two working days, depending on your financial institution. QSuper will allocate the contribution to your account, effective from the date we receive it. We will also apply the unit price of the date the contribution is received. The contribution will be invested according to your investment preference. All contributions and interest from 1 July 1999 onward are generally preserved until you permanently retire after reaching your preservation age.

The minimum contribution we can accept by BPAY is $1.

Answer:
The ATO have advised some superannuation co-contribution payments were not made before the end of the 2008/2009 financial year due to problems with their system. For more information visit the ATO website or call them on 1300 139 007.

Answer:
Due to receipt of employer returns and processing timeframes, this money was held in the QSuper Fund’s holding account at 30 June 2009. It has since been processed using the unit price as at the date QSuper received your contribution. Your account is therefore unaffected by processing timeframes.

Answer:
The crediting rate applies to the member component of your benefit, and does not affect your overall entitlements. As the deferred retirement benefit (employer component) part of your defined benefit is the difference between your defined benefit and your member component, the investment returns will have an effect on the calculation of your deferred retirement benefit.

Answer:
At some point during the financial year you have held funds in that investment option. You have then either withdrawn the funds from this option or you have requested to switch these funds to another option. The figure shown represents the earnings, either positive or negative, while the funds were held in that investment option.

You can find more information about net earnings in the Performance section of our website.

Answer:
The VPP (Closed) option has the same investment mix and MER as the Cash Plus investment option, however the VPP option has a capital guarantee. The capital guarantee applies only to negative investment returns and does not apply to the capital guarantee fee of 0.35%. This fee is deducted from the balance on 30 June each year. If there is a negative return then a capital guarantee rebate will appear in your transaction history to credit your account. You can find more information on the VPP (closed) option fact sheet.

Defined Benefit accounts / deferred retirement benefits

Your Defined Benefit account is not reduced by any fees and costs, as your entitlement is based on a formula which provides a package of benefits for which there is no direct cost to you. Therefore, other management costs are reported as zero on your statement. Similarly, no direct fees are applied to deferred retirement benefits.

Accumulation accounts

Other management costs are deducted before the daily unit prices are declared. The other management costs reported on your statement represent the management expense ratio (MER) for each of your investment options, as applied to your daily account balance over the year. You can find more information about QSuper’s fees on our website or in the product disclosure statement.

QSuper is committed to keeping fees low, and the QSuper Board reviews fees regularly. The QSuper Board will provide at least 30 days notice of any increase in the fixed component of the MER, which is currently no more than 0.30% of a member’s QSuper account balance. Given the nature of the variable component, these fees cannot be precisely calculated in advance. We will provide updated fees on our website throughout the year.

As there are no entry fees, no exit fees, and no ongoing adviser commissions with QSuper, the total fees you paid equals the total of the other management costs plus any Q Invest co-payment deduction, and any capital guarantee fee, if applicable.

You can find more information in the Fees section of our website.