Super funds fail customer service test: SCA

Superannuation funds are apathetic, dismissive and continue to fail members at the most basic service level, a new investigation from Super Consumers Australia (SCA) reveals, which slapped the industry with an overall failing grade on customer satisfaction.

The consumer advocacy body, together with Customer Service Benchmarking Australia (CSBA), conducted a mystery shopping study of 20 major super fund call centres and found on average, the customer satisfaction score did not clear 49.9%.

No super fund scored above 55% across the metrics of ease, success and sentiment. None reached the 80% benchmark considered as the best practice "green zone".

Call centre staff often struggled to balance identity verification requirements with empathy, particularly when dealing with callers facing domestic violence, bereavement or serious injury, the Superannuation Call Centre Experience Report showed.

Frontline agents were also not prepared or equipped to handle emotionally sensitive interactions, involving customers experiencing vulnerability, demonstrating super funds failed the tests of both procedural understanding and human empathy. Some 70% of calls from customers experiencing vulnerability scored five out of 10 or lower for empathy.

Nearly a quarter of prospective customers were told to "go online" to seek help. In 58% of calls where someone rang on behalf of a customer with limited English, call centre staff failed to offer direct support to the customer.

SCA likened the customer service rendered as "a lottery" based on individual call scores ranging from 20% to 86%, showing callers didn't get consistent support, even within the same fund.

"People don't just need a healthy super balance to have a dignified retirement. They need to know their fund will pick up the phone when they're grieving, need to access their money or ask a simple question, and actually help them," SCA chief executive Xavier O'Halloran said.

"Superannuation is mandatory, but good customer service is not. That has to change. This pilot study shows that, right now, getting the right support can depend on who answers the phone."

He added the findings underscore the need for mandatory customer service standards across the super system, backed by public reporting, independent benchmarking and better staff training.

In early 2025, Treasury floated new mandatory minimum service standards for all large APRA-regulated superannuation funds, forced to take action on poor and widespread administration and back-office practices, notably led by Cbus and AustralianSuper.

Cbus paid a nearly $24 million fine for the lengthy delay of death benefit payments, while AustralianSuper sat on death benefit claims that exceeded internal targets of four months.

The government now wants all super funds to step up and force the timely and compassionate handling of death benefits, fair and efficient processing of insurance claims, and clear, respectful and accessible communications with members. It also expects trustees to have better documentation and audit trails and carry out mandatory processes replacing discretionary practices. The first tranche of the standards is set to go live in July 2028.

AustralianSuper also stood out in the new report, failing to answer 90% of calls. Team Super answered just half (52%) of phone calls compared to the 87% average.

A spokesperson from AustralianSuper said this survey was taken a year ago when the super fund was transitioning to a new call centre provider.

"Our customer satisfactions scores right now are the highest they've ever been, and our average speed of answer is less than two minutes," the spokesperson said.

"We are extremely happy with how the team is performing for members. At the time of the transition, members who contacted us across our channels were advised of delays and given advice on other ways they could resolve their queries."

Mary Delahunty, the chief executive of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), said "the sector is listening to feedback from consumer advocates on where we can do better."

"Super Consumers Australia have provided some helpful information about where super funds can improve, but it's important to note the experience of mystery shoppers is not same as that of actual fund members," she said.

"Keeping members' funds and data safe from fraud is the highest priority, so funds ask rigorous identity confirmation questions which mystery shoppers will find frustrating, as they cannot successfully make their way through the member verification process."

Worse still, compared to service levels across utilities, education, local government and banking, superannuation scored the lowest. The education sector scored 55.7, while the other three recorded 77.6.

"The tighter distribution of performance in superannuation than comparative sectors offer an opportunity for some funds to use customer service as a differentiator. When customers interact rarely with a business, such as in superannuation, each interaction can become a moment that matters in competitive differentiation," SCA's report read.

Team Super declined to comment for this article.