Australian Retirement Trust is a new superannuation fund in Australia, established in 2022 through the merger of two pre-existing funds based in Queensland: Sunsuper and QSuper. Australian Retirement Trust has superannuation products open to all Australians, and has two different MySuper products following the merger: its Super Savings Lifecycle Investment Strategy and QSuper Lifetime.
While the Lifecycle Investment Strategy product remains open to all, QSuper Lifetime is exclusive to Queensland government employees and their families.
In this review, Forbes Advisor will focus predominately on the Lifecycle Investment Strategy MySuper product due to its wider availability.
Pros
- Two MySuper products, with one open to all Australians
- 8.7% average returns per annum across past 10 years
- Climate change policy
Cons
- Extra cost for income protection
- Poor customer service reviews
- Past performance figures rely on previous products from Sunsuper and QSuper
Table of Contents
About Australian Retirement Trust
Australian Retirement Trust is an industry superfund, formed in 2022 through the merger of Sunsuper and Q Super. The fund now takes care of $240 billion in retirement savings for more than two million members, and offers such members a My Super product that remains under the latter superfund’s name, being QSuper Lifetime.
Australian Retirement Trust is considered an open superfund by the ATO, meaning that the general public can access its services and offerings (which may eventually be the case for the Q Super Lifetime offering).
The Australian Retirement Trust explains the relationship between the brand and offering on its website, stating:
“Following the merger, all Sunsuper and QSuper members are now a part of Australian Retirement Trust and all Australians can join Australian Retirement Trust. The QSuper brand is a part of Australian Retirement Trust, dedicated to providing superannuation products and services to Queensland Government employees and their families”.
The Lifecycle Investment Strategy MySuper product, however, is available to all. As the website explains, “The Super Savings, Retirement and Super Savings Cash Pools commenced on 28 February and adopted respectively the investment strategy of the Sunsuper Balanced, Retirement and Cash Pools that commenced on 4 October 2013”.
Fees
The annual administration fee for members of Australian Retirement Trust’s Lifecycle Investment Strategy product is $443. This fee is based on a balance of $50,000 and covers administration fees and costs, investment fees and costs, and transaction costs.
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What’s included?
Australian Retirement Trust’s MySuper products don’t solely provide members superannuation, but some additional benefits as well which are included in the annual fees.
Insurance
The Lifecycle Investment Strategy product includes a default level of insurance provided certain age and balance conditions are met. Income protection is not automatically added, however it can be added based on an individual’s needs.
Meanwhile, death and total permanent disability insurance amounts vary between $16,000 and $250,ooo depending on age.
Financial advice
There are limited advisory services about your MySuper plan available when joining Australian Retirement Trust, whether joining for the QSuper Lifetime or Lifecycle Investment Strategy product. Advice about your entire financial situation is also available at an additional cost.
Australian Retirement Trust Average Performance
A superfund’s performance is measured by looking at its average rate of returns across a specified period of time. Regardless, a superannuation fund’s past performance is not an indicator of future performance.
At the time of writing, Australian Retirement Trust’s performance for its Lifecycle Investment Strategy product over the past 10 years was 8.7%.
As Australian Retirement Trust was formed via a merger last year, there is not yet any data for performance over the past 12 months.
ESG Credentials
With ethical investing becoming front of mind for more Australians, superfunds are needing to follow suit. Australian Retirement Trust, however, doesn’t have the accolades that many others in the industry do.
At current, Australian Retirement Trust offers a socially responsible investment (SRI) option to its members (rather than being absorbed into the main offering). The SRI option avoids investments in fossil fuels, gambling, and adult entertainment.
Australian Retirement Trust does however have a climate change policy, which is separate to its ESG policy.
Customer service
Australian Retirement Trust has limited customer service availability, as there is no livechat nor customer service phone line out of hours or on weekends. Instead, phone contact is only available Monday to Friday from 8am-6pm. Members can email for enquiries as well.
On Australia’s leading consumer opinion site, Product Review, Australian Retirement Trust has received 3.6 stars out of 5 from a total of 86 reviews. While many are positive, there are a significant amount that complain about the customer service capabilities, especially post-merger.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
When was Australian Retirement Trust established?
Australian Retirement Trust was officially established on February 28, 2022. It is the result of a merger between two superannuation funds, Sunsuper and Q Super, which were founded in 1987 and 1912 respectively.
What is the Australian Retirement Trust USI?
If you’re changing jobs or changing your superannuation provider, you’ll need to provide the correct details to your employer–including the Unique Superannuation Identifier (USI).
Australian Retirement Trust’s USI is: 60 905 115 063 003
Other important details to know about Australian Retirement Trust are its:
- ABN: 60 905 115 063
- Fund address: GPO Box 2924, Brisbane QLD 4001
How many assets does Australian Retirement Trust have under management?
According to the Australian Retirement Trust website, it takes care of $220 billion in retirement savings (as of September 2023) for more than two million members.
How many members does Australian Retirement Trust have?
According to the Australian Retirement Trust website, there are 2.2 million members with Australian Retirement Trust superannuation products as of September 2023.
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