Fees for the AustralianSuper pension are among the lowest charged by pension funds. Our fees are low because they’re set only to cover the costs of running the fund, not to make a profit for shareholders or to pay commissions to agents or advisers.
Small differences in fees can have a big impact on your account balance in the long-term. For example, total annual fees and costs of 2% of your balance rather than 1% could reduce your final balance by up to 20% over a 30-year-period (ie in your super account it could reduce your $100,000 balance to $80,000).
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 You can use our Comparison tool to compare the competitive fees of AustralianSuper against other pension funds.
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Our pension fees and costs are outlined here:
| Management costs |
Amount |
| Administration fee: The fees and costs for managing your pension account. |
Administration fee consists of an:
- Account-keeping fee - $1 per week (calculated weekly and deducted monthly from your acount)
- Asset-based fee - 0.22% pa of your account balance capped at $1,100 for accounts of $500,000 or more (the 0.22% pa is calculated and deducted monthly based on your account balance at the end of each month).
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| Adviser service fee: This is deducted after you authorise payment to an eligible adviser for the advice you receive about your investment with AustralianSuper†. |
This fee is automatically set at zero but can be negotiated between you and your adviser up to the following limits:
- Initial advice: $4,659.10
- Once-off advice: $2,329.55
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| Investment management fee: The fees and costs for managing your investment. |
For the 2009/10 financial year the figure ranged from 0.11% pa to 0.74% pa of your account balance, depending on your investment option. * Detailed list |
| Switching fee: Charged when you switch between Investment Options offered by the Fund. |
Nil |
| Fees when your money moves in or out of the Fund |
Amount |
| Establishment fee: The fee to open your pension account. |
Nil |
| Contribution fee: The fee on each amount contributed to your investment. |
Nil |
| Withdrawal fee: The fee on each lump sum amount you take out of your pension account. |
$35 |
| Termination fee: The fee to close your pension account. |
Nil (see withdrawal fee above) |
| Additional fees |
Amount |
| Binding nomination fee: This is the fee charged if you decide to make a binding nomination for your death benefit. |
$10 per year |
Family Law Act information request: This fee
is charged when an eligible person (as defined
in legislation) requests information under the
Family Law Act. |
$50 |
Family Law Act splitting account fee: This fee
is charged to affect a Family Law splitting order
or agreement. |
$70 |
*The investment management fees are calculated in arrears as at 31 December and 30 June each year and may change from year to year. Where you have more than one investment option, the fee deducted from gross investment earnings will be apportioned.
† The adviser service fee shown is deducted after the savings from reduced input tax credits are taken into account. This means that the adviser service fee deducted from your account is less than the full fee that’s paid to the financial adviser.
An example of annual fees
Below gives an example of how the fees and costs in the Balanced Investment Option for this product can affect your pension account balance over a one-year period. You should use this table to compare this product with other pension products.
Example – AustralianSuper Balanced Investment Option
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Balance of $50,000 |
| Management costs |
0.60% pa
+ $52 pa ($1 per week)
+ 0.22% pa (not exceeding $1,100 per year) |
For every $50,000 you have in the Fund you will be charged $300 each year, plus $52 for the account-keeping fee regardless of your balance, plus $110 per year. |
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Cost of fund
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If your balance is $50,000 throughout the year, then for that year you will be charged fees of $462*. What it costs will depend on the investment option you choose and the fees you negotiate with your fund or financial adviser†. |
Note: Additional fees may apply. If you draw a lump sum amount from your pension account that is additional to your regular pension payment a withdrawal fee of $35 will apply. 0.60% comprises of 0.58% investment management costs and 0.02% performance based fees. Investment related costs used in this example are based on costs for 2009/10. Actual costs will vary from year to year.
†This statement is required to be included by law. AustralianSuper does not negotiate fees with individual members and does not pay any commissions to third parties or advisers. Investment management costs used in this example are based on costs for 2009/10. Actual costs will vary from year to year.