Industry fund merger postponed

Mine Super and TWUSUPER have reported "significant progress" towards their merger, but it has been pushed back.

In a joint statement, the super funds announced that their merger to form TEAM Super has been rescheduled from early 2024 to early 2025. They did not offer an explanation for the delay.

Nevertheless, Mine Super chair Christina Langby and TWUSUPER chair Nick Sherry said that the merger continues to be in best financial interests of their members, noting progress like the streamlining of investment and insurance offerings.

"Extending the completion date enables both funds to focus on a smooth transition for members," Langby and Sherry said.

The funds added that their focus remains on ensuring a high-quality outcome for members.

"Mine Super and TWUSUPER remain committed to ensuring external service providers, regulators, and most importantly, members, are engaged throughout the process," they said.

Effective yesterday, Mine Super implemented several changes to its offerings. Administration fees were reduced by 25%, from $1 per week to $0.75 per week, reducing the annual cost from $52 to $39.

Additionally, the Lifecycle Investment Strategy was simplified from 16 stages to three - high growth for those under age 50, growth for those aged 50-54, and balanced for those aged 55 and above.

The fund also introduced two new pre-mixed investment options - moderate and defensive - while closing the term deposit investment option, the conservative balanced (pension) option, and the capital guarded (pension) option.

Moreover, new default insurance was introduced for new members.

In September 2023, Mine Super and TWUSUPER signed a successor fund transfer feed, announcing that the merged fund will be led by current Mine Super chief executive Vasyl Nair.

At the time, Langby and Sherry described the signing as a meaningful step toward merging two "culturally aligned" and "strong industry super funds," dedicated to improving and protecting the retirement interests of members in the mining and transport sectors.

This followed the signing of a heads of agreement in April 2023 and an initial non-binding Memorandum of Understanding in December 2022.

Mine Super, which has been operating for over 80 years, manages more than $14 billion for 56,000 members, while TWUSUPER oversees $7 billion for nearly 100,000 members.