There has been a shakeup within the superannuation industry after the latest government reform passed through the Senate. You may have heard of Your Future, Your Super, which was introduced during the Federal Budget announcements of 2020-21.

Your Future, Your Super was introduced during the Federal Budget 2020-21 announcements as a reform measure to address growing concerns about the performance of the superannuation industry.

Under the reform, superannuation funds will now face an annual performance test, public ranking by the Tax Office and the loss of an easy source of new members.

One of the most notable changes that have been introduced (as of 1 November 2021) is that Australians will no longer be required to fill out paperwork to avoid getting a new super fund when they switch jobs.

This measure has been designed to reduce the prevalence of unintended multiple superannuation accounts. The onus will be on the employer to check with the ATO if their employee has an existing super account, known as a ‘stapled super fund’, to pay the employee’s super guarantee into.

Super funds will also be subjected to a new annual performance test run by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), and underperforming products (those who show returns below 50 points ) will be labelled as underperformers. If your super is sitting in a dud fund and your nest egg is in an underperforming product, the trustees will be required to notify you within 28 days. Funds that fail the test twice in a row could be blocked from taking on new members.

Worried about how your superannuation fund may be performing, and not sure who to ask? Come have a chat with us.