On 15 March 2021, QSuper and Sunsuper announced that they were intending to merge to create a $200 billion superannuation fund. This continues a recent trend of mergers in the superannuation industry.
What does this mean for TPD and income protection benefits?
Much has been written about the merger and the size of the new fund. However, one thing which has received little coverage is what the merger might mean for the insurance entitlements of the millions of members of the new merged superannuation fund. Most members (in either fund) would hold TPD insurance and some members will hold income protection insurance.
QSuper’s insurance benefits
As things currently stand (Aug 2021), most members of QSuper receive a reasonably generous default level of Death and TPD insurance cover, as well as income protection which covers members’ income up to 75% of their pre-disability income, and with a superannuation contribution made on top of that.
Sunsuper’s insurance benefits
Contrast that with the insurance cover provided by Sunsuper, where most members of the fund are provided a default level of death and “TPD Assist” cover. This usually pays a TPD lump sum in instalments over a number of years, rather than as a single lump sum. In addition, most members of Sunsuper are not provided any default income protection insurance cover.
What do we know now?
General feedback from our clients tells us that most members would much prefer the insurance cover currently offered by QSuper than the offering that is currently provided by Sunsuper.
So, the big question is what will happen with the merged fund and what does it mean for the existing and future insurance arrangements for QSuper and Sunsuper members. Unfortunately, there have been no public notices that we’ve seen that would give any indication of what the new insurance arrangements might be for the merged fund.
We will continue to monitor any announcements made by QSuper and Sunsuper and we’re hopeful that further information will be released soon and we will pass that information on once it is known.
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