QSuper and Sunsuper merger: What it means for you and your employees
10 January 2022
5
min read
QSuper and Sunsuper will soon be coming together to form Australian Retirement Trust. There is some important information about the merger that you and your employees should know.
What’s happening?
QSuper and Sunsuper will soon be coming together for the benefit of our members.
Australian Retirement Trust will be one of the country’s largest superannuation funds, taking care of over $200 billion in retirement savings for more than two million members.
QSuper will continue as part of Australian Retirement Trust for:
- Existing QSuper members
- Employees of the Queensland Government
- Employees of existing QSuper default employers
- Spouses and children (who join while under age 25) of QSuper members.
There will be an exception: If you are not a QSuper member and want to start a QSuper Lifetime Pension (and are otherwise eligible), you will still be able to open a QSuper Accumulation account for the purpose of us receiving the money you want to use to start your Lifetime Pension. This Accumulation account will then be closed when your money is transferred to your Lifetime Pension.
This merger is scheduled to be completed on 28 February 2022, subject to outstanding conditions and approvals.
Why are we merging?
Over the last two years, QSuper and Sunsuper have undertaken a detailed due diligence process to explore if both funds’ members would benefit from being part of a merged super fund.
Through this merger, Australian Retirement Trust will combine both super funds’ strengths and will aim to return profits to members as lower fees and better services. We will continue to provide guidance to help members feel secure and confident about their future.
What does this mean for you?
There will be no changes to the services you’ve come to expect from us. You’ll still be able to make contributions, contact QSuper, and receive information just the way you always have.
You’ll continue to access to the same products and services you know and trust, including:
Importantly, there will be no change to our Unique Superannuation Identifier (USI) numbers when we merge, so please continue to use the same USI number(s) when paying your employees’ super.
Impacts to forms, factsheets, and disclosure documents
As this merger involves a change of trustee, there will be some paper-based forms that we will not be able to accept after the merger. Visit the forms page on our website for details.
Updated forms, factsheets, and disclosure documents will be available on our website from 28 February 2022.
What does this mean for your employees?
When we merge, there will be no changes to QSuper members’:
- Investments
- Insurance
- Account details (including any beneficiaries and authorities).
QSuper members’ defined benefit entitlements will not be affected, and there will be no impact to current insurance claims or members on graduated return to work programs.
Your employees who are QSuper members will be sent an email or letter over the coming weeks letting them know about the merger and what it may mean for them.
These communications will include a link to or copy of the Important Information booklet January 2022 which provides key details about the merger.
QSuper and Sunsuper will send communications separately up until the merger, so you and your employees may receive communications from both of us.
After the merger, you and your employees may receive communications on behalf of the QSuper part of Australian Retirement Trust and the public offer part of Australian Retirement Trust.
Employees who have both a QSuper and Sunsuper account
If your employee has both a QSuper and Sunsuper account, these accounts will not be automatically combined when we merge, or at any other time. This aims to make sure they do not lose any benefits (for example, insurance) they have with either fund.
We’ll contact these members after the merger to let them know their options.
Leveraging our size to keep fees low
Following the merger, we expect to have the size and scale to ensure our administration fees remain among the lowest in the industry.
QSuper and Sunsuper have agreed that the administration fees members pay from their QSuper Accumulation account(s) and Income account(s), and those that are deducted from the Lifetime Pension pool, will be reduced from 0.16% to 0.15% per annum from 1 July 2022.1
This decision to reduce fees is subject to confirmation by the trustee of Australian Retirement Trust after 28 February 2022. We’ll update you and our members once this decision has been made.
In the short term, as we are moving assets, investment transaction costs will be incurred that will be reflected in the unit price for some investment options, as outlined in the Important Information booklet January 2022.
What’s next?
This merger is scheduled to be completed on 28 February 2022, subject to outstanding conditions and approvals. In the meantime, there is nothing you need to do.
1. These fee changes will not impact the amount of administration fees paid from Australian Retirement Trust’s reserves.