Customer satisfaction with retail funds generally has fallen by 2.5 per cent while satisfaction with industry funds has risen 0.2 per cent, according to data from Roy Morgan’s Superannuation Satisfaction Report. But it’s a retail fund that has taken the top spot in a member satisfaction and experience survey.
The Roy Morgan report shows an overall super fund financial performance rating of 61.6 per cent – perhaps surprisingly unchanged from 61.7 per cent in July 2019.
The report found industry funds were the standout in the past year and the only sector to increase customer satisfaction, up by 0.2 percentage points to 63 per cent.
Customer satisfaction with retail funds declined 2.5 percentage points to 54.9 per cent, but the biggest decline was felt by self-managed super funds, down 10.4 per cent points to 67.1 per cent.
In the same period last year, those with SMSFs were the most satisfied; now that rating is at its lowest point in eight years.
In the Forrester Research 2020 Australia Superannuation Customer Experience Index, Colonial First State (CFS) regained top spot for its ability to provide members “effective, easy and emotionally positive experiences”, the Financial Standard reports.
Sunsuper was second, followed by BT Financial Group’s super offering and industry fund Rest.
AustralianSuper dropped to number five while superannuation offerings from MLC and AMP took the sixth and seventh spots respectively.
US market researcher Forrester Research surveyed more than 2800 members of seven super funds from May to July, assessing several categories including communication, customer service and loyalty. It found that CFS exceeded industry averages in the areas of customer service, website and mobile app, investments and advisers, and communication.
AustralianSuper’s ranking plummeted, according to the researchers, even though its score did not drop significantly. Rather, its competitors had made big gains. AustralianSuper still outperformed its peers in areas such as communication, the report said.
“Among superannuation customers who felt understood, 60 per cent plan to stay with the brand, 60 per cent will advocate for the brand and 61 per cent plan to spend more with the brand,” the research found.
Millions of Australians have been receiving their annual super statements in recent weeks. Rose Kerlin, AustralianSuper group executive, says members should be paying attention to their balances and taking action to bolster their savings.
“The most important thing you should check with your super fund is the performance of your super fund and what fees are, [making] sure you’re in a high performing fund with lower fees,” she said.
“Boosting your super with voluntary contributions is a great way to help reach your goals.”
The Roy Morgan report found UniSuper had the highest customer satisfaction rating among the industry funds, followed by CareSuper, AustralianSuper, Hostplus, HESTA, Cbus, Sunsuper, First State Super and Rest.
The highest placed retail fund was Colonial First State followed by BT, OnePath, MLC and AMP.
Roy Morgan chief executive Michele Levine said superannuation funds had had a challenging year with millions of people opting to withdraw funds to weather the pandemic.
She said that despite the “immense pressure” on funds, they had held up well.
Have you been happy with both the performance of your super fund and any communication you have had with it?
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https://www.yourlifechoices.com.au/finance/superannuation/poorest-performing-super-funds
