Brighter Super makes fee, death benefit changes

Brighter Super is reducing administration fees from January 1, while also introducing a weekly account keeping fee. It's also changing the way death benefits are dealt with.

Effective January, the annual percentage-based admin fee charged to Brighter Super members will drop from 0.18% to 0.14%.

The changes mean the bigger the balance, the bigger the savings. A member with a $50,000 balance will pay $101 in administration fees from January compared to the $105 they currently pay. A member with more than $550,000, however, will pay $731 instead of $1065.

This marks the third time in three years that the fund has decreased admin fees. Since it completed the mergers of Energy Super and Suncorp Super, admin fees have dropped about 40%, it noted.

"The reduction in administration fees represents a significant milestone in realising the benefits of our mergers, ensuring we continue to help members grow their retirement savings while offering exceptional value and services,'' Brighter Super chief executive Kate Farrar said.

"These fee changes reflect Brighter Super's ongoing commitment to keeping fees as low as possible, for our members."

At the same time, the annual cap on the percentage-based admin fee will be cut from $900 to $650. And, in addition, a Partner Linking feature will be introduced enabling couples to apply the $650 fee cap to their combined balances.

"Under Partner Linking, when two Accumulation or TTR members link accounts, the percentage-based administration fee cap of $650 will apply once the combined balance across the linked members exceeds, $546,219," Brighter Super explained.

Costs covered by general reserves will also decrease from 0.03% to 0.01%, it said.

However, Brighter Super will also introduce a weekly account keeping fee of $0.50 to cover the base costs of managing an account.

"The new fee structure will enable us to continue to provide a high standard of service and shares the cost of providing administration services and products across all accounts," Brighter Super said.

Finally, the fund is also amending its trust deed to provide clearer guidance and expedite decision making as to death benefits where there is no valid beneficiary nomination.

The fund will use a new prescribed hierarchy to determine who to pay the benefit to. In the first instance it will be paid to a qualifying spouse. If there is no qualifying spouse, it will be paid to one or more qualifying children. Where there is no qualifying children, the benefit will be paid to a legal representative and, if there is no representative or the estate is insolvent, it will go to other dependants.

"Additional changes have been introduced for the Trustee to exercise discretion on the payment of death benefits in some circumstances where there are indications of spousal abuse," the fund added.