Superannuation trustees that were classifying new members as 'smokers' by default and charging them higher life insurance premiums have ceased this practice, and some trustees have remediated members for the extra premiums paid.
Between 2017 to 2020, ASIC engaged with seven superannuation businesses, (comprising nine superannuation trustees) that had been, either at the time or historically, assigning 'smoker' status to members in specific products unless the member took active steps to opt out of the categorisation. They are AMP, Colonial First State, Equity Trustees, IOOF (including OnePath), Intrust, Netwealth, and Suncorp.
Following the engagement, ASIC was able to confirm that:
- all seven superannuation businesses stopped charging new members life insurance premiums at smoker rates by default[1];
- all seven superannuation businesses moved, or are in the process of moving, existing members paying premiums at 'smoker' rates by default onto non-smoker or blended rates; and
- four superannuation businesses refunded or agreed to refund members for the extra premiums paid because of the default 'smoker' classification (refer Summary of remediation).
ASIC Commissioner Danielle Press said, "Generally, insurance premiums for smokers are substantially higher than for non-smokers.[2] Given the low prevalence of smoking among Australian adults[3], classifying members as 'smokers' for insurance offered through superannuation unless the member takes active steps to confirm non-smoking status is contrary to community expectations.
"Insurance in super is complex. Many Australians may not realise that default classifications can impact the price of their cover and therefore, reduce their retirement benefits. In light of the low smoking rate, merely providing disclosure and putting the onus on members to act is not enough to support good member outcomes.
"All trustees we raised these concerns with have ended this practice with new members. Many have decided to refund affected members, in part or in full, for the higher insurance costs. When planned remediation is complete, more than 5,000 members will have received more than $3.6 million in compensation.
"Those trustees that have committed to remediation are heeding the lessons of the Financial Services Royal Commission - that trustees should seek to achieve outcomes for members in line with community standards and expectations," she said.
Ms Press said, "Superannuation funds play an important role in meeting the insurance needs of Australians. For many Australians, insurance in superannuation offers quality coverage at a competitive price. Choosing appropriate default settings for insurance coverage is an important part of a trustee's responsibilities in relation to group insurance.
"Trustees should ensure that members are not disadvantaged due to disengagement or inertia. I strongly encourage trustees to take into account the composition and needs of their membership and check whether their default settings for insurance coverage are reasonable," she said.
If members believe they have been inappropriately classified as 'smokers', they should approach their fund in the first instance. Members can contact the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) for fair, free and independent dispute resolution if they have complaints.
Summary of remediation
The information below is current as at 5 August 2020 and based on information provided by each entity.
| # | Entity | Trustee(s) | Superannuation fund(s) | Date ceased defaulting members | Date members transferred off smoker default rates | Number of identified affected members | Refund amounts |
| 1 | AMP | AMP Superannuation Ltd[4] | AMP Superannuation Savings Trust | 4 June 2006 | In progress | 3,492 | No remediation |
| NM Superannuation Proprietary Limited | Wealth Personal Superannuation Pension Fund | 17 August 2012 | 25 March 2020 | 14 | |||
| 2 | CFS | Colonial First State Investments Limited | Colonial First State FirstChoice Superannuation Trust | 1 February 2018 | 1 February 2018 (FCES)[5] 15 October 2019 (FCPS)[6] | 3,894 | Partial remediation of $2.97 million |
| 3 | Equity Trustees | Equity Trustees Superannuation Limited | AMG Super | 17 December 2019 | 17 December 2019 | 65 | Partial remediation of $34,507 |
| 4 | IOOF | IOOF Investment Management Limited | IOOF Portfolio Services Superannuation Fund | 30 June 2014 | 1 January 2020 | 350 | No remediation |
| OnePath Custodians Pty Limited | OnePath MasterFund[7] | 17 March 2018 | 17 March 2018 | Approx. 146,000 | |||
| 5 | Intrust | IS Industry Fund Pty Ltd | Intrust Super | 31 January 2020[8] | 31 January 2020 | 36 | Full remediation of $29,316 |
| 6 | Netwealth | Netwealth Investments Limited | Netwealth Superannuation Master Fund | 1 January 2017[9] | 1 December 2019 | 1,046 | Full remediation of $598,365 |
| 7 | Suncorp | Suncorp Portfolio Services Limited | Suncorp Master Trust | 5 May 2017 | 1 February 2020 | 1,573 | No remediation[10] |
Background
ASIC previously raised concerns about trustees' practice of assigning smoker status to all new fund members. This practice was particularly common when members who changed employers, transferred to a personal plan from their employers' plan. For more information, refer to:
ASIC is also looking more broadly into the superannuation industry's progress on improving insurance outcomes for consumers, and released a short report examining industry progress on the implementation of the Insurance in Superannuation Voluntary Code of Practice (REP 646). We anticipate publishing an additional report by the end of December 2020.
[1] Three superannuation funds had ceased defaulting new members to smoker status before ASIC raised this issue, initially in 2017; the rest have ceased the conduct since.
[2] See, for example, 2017 data published by Canstar.
[3] 14% and decreasing according to recent ABS data (Cat. No 4364.0.55.001).
[4] On 15 May 2020, affected members were successor fund transferred to the Super Directions Fund for which NM Superannuation Proprietary Limited is Trustee.
[5] FirstChoice Employer Super.
[6] FirstChoice Personal Super.
[7] On 13 April 2019, members and assets of OnePath MasterFund were transferred to the Retirement Portfolio Services superannuation fund. On 31 January 2020, ownership of ANZ's superannuation and investment business (including OnePath) changed to IOOF Holdings Limited.
[8] Intrust has remediated affected members back to 2011.
[9] Netwealth has remediated affected members back to 2012.
[10] Suncorp have not finalised whether they will remediate members.
