The peak bodies for not-for-profit and retail superannuation have launched a campaign to educate the public about the upcoming Protecting Your Super (PSY) changes and the potential negative impact on life insurance held through super funds.
The “When did you last check your super” campaign, developed by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) and Financial Services Council (FSC), which is also the peak body for life insurers, aims to raise public awareness of the changes taking effect on 1 July and has been rolled out across TV, digital and social media.
The campaign urges Australians to check their insurance cover through superannuation to find out whether they will be affected by the PSY changes.
A website, www.timetocheck.com.au, designed to further educate Australians on the impact of the changes, has also been developed by the industry to correspond with the campaign.
ASFA chief executive Dr Martin Fahy said while the PSY changes were a positive move, the narrow time frame for the changes to be implemented meant superannuation funds were unable to effectively engage their members around the impact of the changes.
“Our primary concern is for those Australians who have and need insurance through superannuation and may not realise they will be impacted by these changes on 1 July, potentially finding themselves without insurance cover when they go to claim as a result,” Fahy said.
FSC chief executive Sally Loane said the life insurance provided through superannuation was the only life insurance many Australians had, but less than 20 per cent of Australians felt they understood the potential impact of the PSY measures.
“The Protecting Your Super changes will help reduce account erosion through the additional fees and insurance that come along with unintended duplicate accounts. But this is also a timely reminder to check your super and make sure you have the right insurance for your circumstances,” Loane said.
