On 29 April 2022, Hostplus and Statewide Super formalised their merger. Under the merger, Statewide members have become Hostplus members. In this article, we look at what this means for members’ insurance; death benefits, total and permanent disablement (TPD) and income protection.
The origins of the two funds
Statewide Super was a South Australian based not-for-profit or industry superannuation fund with around 152,000 members and approximately $11.9 billion in funds under management. Statewide super has traditionally serviced members from a range of industries as opposed to the specific industries many other industry super funds services.
Hostplus was also an industry super fund and was typically the superannuation fund of choice for hospitality workers.,
The merger
The merger means that Statewide Super members join the existing members of Hostplus, of which there are approximately 1.384 million with approximately $70 billion in assets. The name of the merged fund is Hostplus.
As part of the merger, members who were formerly Statewide Super members, will become Hostplus members but will be recognised as Statewide Super Legacy members following the merger.
What insurance benefits were available before the merger?
Prior to the merger, most people who joined Hostplus directly (as compared to following a merger), were entitled to default insurance cover for:
- total and permanent disability (TPD); and
- death insurance.
Hostplus members needed to apply for income protection cover.
We understand that the default insurance cover for new Hostplus (those joining after the merger), will be the same as past Hostplus members; that is, default total and permanent disability (TPD) and death insurance and income protection cover on application.
Most Statewide Super members were entitled to the following default prior to the merger:
- total and permanent disability (TPD);
- death insurance; and
- income protection (or salary continuance).
We understand that the insurance cover for those members will continue unchanged.
What happens to the insurance benefits of former Statewide Super members?
For now, Statewide Super Legacy members (those who were Statewide Super members prior to the merger) will keep the same existing insurance arrangements for total and permanent disability (TPD) and income protection that they had in place prior to the merger.
However, we expect that at some point in the future, the differences between the insurance of former Statewide Super members and existing Hostplus members may change.
Importantly, if you were a Salarylink defined member of Statewide Super, we understand that your entitlements have not changed following the merger.
Hostplus history of mergers
The merger of Hostplus and Statewide is the most recent in a number of mergers between Hostplus Super and other super funds.
Other recent superannuation funds to merge with Hostplus include:
- Intrust Super;
- Club Plus Super; and
- Maritime Super.
There have recently been a number of superfund mergers, which is not surprising as this has been a focus of recent legislative changes.
We understand that following the mergers between Hostplus and each of Club Plus Super, Maritime Super and Intrust Super, the existing insurance arrangements of members transferring into Hostplus from those funds remained unchanged.
Get help from a superannuation lawyer
We are experts in superannuation insurance claims; TPD claims, income protection claims and death insurance claims. If you're having any issues with your claim or you’re unsure about your entitlements, you can contact us for free advice. It costs you nothing to find out where you stand.
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