Tribunal calls for super fund transparency

SUPER fund trustees are being urged by the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT) to clearly identify reasons leading to granting or disallowing benefits to members.

SCT chairman Graham McDonald says while providing such information is not a legally enforceable requirement, lack of explanation often results in complaints being lodged with the tribunal.

McDonald says such action would also benefit funds operating in a competitive market to differentiate themselves and that spelling out the justification for their decisions may help to attract new members.

“The lack of an explanation coupled with advice that a free review mechanism exists, almost inevitably results in an application being lodged with the tribunal, [and] given those circumstances, which of us would not seek to pursue an appeal?” McDonald says.

“On the other hand, a member who receives a summary of reasons and/or a list of the factors considered by the trustee is much better placed ... to assess whether lodging an application for review would be worthwhile,” he says.

He says a growing appreciation by the courts that super is no longer a discretionary matter, but a compulsory entitlement may ultimately lead to requiring trustees to give reasons to members for their decisions.