CHOICE OF SUPER Frequently asked questions 1
Content Choice 3 Standard Choice form 4 Employer default fund 5 Employer s obligations 5 Voluntary Superannuation Contributions 7 Former employees 8 Understanding the different Superannuation Schemes 9 It s m choic s my uper 2 Updated February 2015
CHOICE OF SUPER Questions on Choice, the employer nominated (default) fund and your employer s obligations 1. What is Choice of annuation fund? Choice of fund (Choice) gives eligible employees the right to choose the fund they want their employer Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions paid into, rather than requiring them to be paid to their employer s default fund. 2. What is the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contribution? The SG contribution is the term used for compulsory annuation contributions made by employers on behalf of their employees. An employer must contribute the equivalent of 9.5 per cent of an employee s salary to their annuation fund. 3. Am I eligible for Choice? If your employer pays SG contributions to an accumulation annuation scheme for you, then you are eligible to choose a annuation fund for your SG contributions. Examples of accumulation schemes are West State Super and GESB Super, both administered by GESB. Choice does not apply if you are a defined benefit scheme member and have annuation contributions paid to Gold State Super, the Pension Scheme or the Fire and Emergency Services Superannuation Fund (FESS Fund). However, contributing members of Gold State Super can elect to withdraw from the scheme and direct their employer to make SG contributions to an accumulation scheme of their choice. Employees who wish to withdraw from Gold State Super should seek independent financial advice relevant to their personal circumstances before making a decision. For more information on the Gold State Super or State Pension defined benefit schemes visit www.treasury.wa.gov.au or contact GESB on 13 43 72. For information on the schemes provided by the Fire and Emergency Services Superannuation Fund, contact FESS Fund on (08) 9382 8444. 4. When was Choice introduced? Choice was introduced on 30 March 2012. 3
5. What happens if I m eligible for Choice? If you were eligible to choose a annuation fund on 30 March 2012 when Choice was introduced, your employer was required to give you a Standard choice form within 28 days. Since then, new employees must be provided with the Standard choice form within 28 days of commencing work with the State Government, or of transferring from another public sector agency. When you receive a Standard choice form from your new employer you have two options: Option 1 Do nothing If you do not complete the Standard choice form, your SG contributions will be paid into the fund chosen by your employer (as shown on the Standard choice form). GESB administers the default fund for most State Government employers however, in certain circumstances your employer may have selected another default fund. If you are unsure of your employer s default fund contact your HR Officer. You may also choose another annuation fund at any time. Option 2 - Choose another fund and advise your employer You can choose the fund into which your SG contributions are to be paid. You must give your employer details of your chosen fund by completing the Standard choice form. 6. Where can I obtain a Standard choice form? Your HR Officer will be able to provide you with a Standard choice form or you can download a Standard choice form from www.treasury.wa.gov.au, or from the ATO website www.ato.gov.au 7. How do I fill in the Standard choice form? Section A of the form sets out the information you must provide to your employer if you want to choose a fund. Your employer will fill out Section B, which tells you the fund your employer s Superannuation Guarantee contributions will be paid into if you don t choose a fund. Your HR officer can help you with filling the form. 8. How often can I choose a annuation fund? There is no limit to how often you may switch funds, but remember that annuation is designed to be a long-term investment and there may be a cost involved in changing funds often, such as exit fees. 9. Can I choose any fund I like? You can choose any fund that is complying and is willing to accept your employer s contributions. A list of complying funds can be found at www.fundlookup.gov.au. 4
CHOICE OF SUPER 10. How do I know which is the best fund for me? Employers cannot provide advice on annuation matters including which fund is best for you. If you are unsure what to do, seek independent advice. You can find more information on comparing and choosing a fund by visiting the MoneySmart website at www.moneysmart.gov.au. 11. What is an employer s nominated fund (also known as default fund)? The employer s nominated or default fund is the fund your employer pays your SG contributions to if you don t make a choice. For most agencies, a GESB administered scheme is the default fund. Some agencies have established or selected a default fund other than a GESB administered scheme. For employees of the Department of Emergency Services, the FESS Fund is the default fund. If you are unsure of your employer s default fund contact your HR Officer. 12. Can I retain my insurance in my current fund if I choose to go into another fund? Not necessarily. Should you require Death, TPD or Income protection insurance you should speak to your current fund and your chosen fund before changing over. The Product Disclosure Statement will outline insurance options in your new fund. 13. What happens if I change jobs? If you start work with a new agency, you will be asked whether you want to choose a annuation fund. If your new employer is not a State Government employer you will not be able to choose to have your SG or Salary Sacrifice contributions paid to your GESB account. This is because GESB accounts are in a constitutionally protected fund and can only receive employer annuation contributions from a Western Australian State Government employer. In these circumstances you may wish to consider consolidating your with your current employer fund and avoid duplication of fees. However you should inform yourself if this is your best option. 14. Do I have to provide my tax file number to my chosen fund? It is recommended you give your fund your tax file number. In the event that you lose touch with your fund through changing address or job, the ATO s SuperSeeker service can use your tax file number to reunite you with your account. If your fund does not have your tax file number your fund may have to pay extra tax on certain contributions and you may miss out on co contributions. 15. Can a Self Managed Superannuation fund (SMSF) receive SG contributions? Yes if you have a complying SMSF, this can be nominated as your chosen fund and receive your employer SG contributions. 16. What must my employer do when I have chosen a fund? When you provide your employer with all the required information for your chosen fund, your employer has two months to organise the administrative details so they can make contributions to that fund. After the two month period ends, any contributions your employer makes for you must be to your chosen fund. An employer can start making SG contributions to your chosen fund at an earlier time if they are able to do so. 5
17. Does my employer have to accept the fund I have chosen? Your employer does not have to accept your choice if you don t provide them with all the required information about your chosen annuation fund. 18. How long will contributions take to reach my Chosen Fund? Contributions generally take between 5 and 7 business days to be received by your chosen annuation fund. The annuation fund then has up to 28 days to allocate the contribution to your annuation account. 19. What happens if I have more than one annuation account? If you have worked for several employers you may have annuation money elsewhere. In that case you may be paying at least two sets of account fees and this may be eroding your retirement savings. In these circumstances there may be advantages to consolidating your into one current account. You can do this via the ATO s SuperSeeker site, using a simple on -line form. However before you decide to roll over or consolidate your please inform yourself if this is your best option. 20. How do I find out if I have more than one annuation account? If you have many accounts or suspect you have lost, you can locate these accounts using the SuperSeeker function on the Australian Tax Office website at www.ato.gov.au You can register for the Australian Taxation Office s online services and use SuperSeeker to check all your accounts, and find any lost of ATO-held. 21. Where can I go for more information? For more information talk to your HR Officer or visit the Department of Treasury Public Sector Superannuation website at www.treasury.wa.gov.au Alternatively, you can visit the websites listed below: Australian Tax Office - www.ato.gov.au/ Australian Securities and Investment Commission - www.moneysmart.gov.au 6
CHOICE OF SUPER Voluntary Superannuation Contributions 1. Does Choice apply to other annuation contributions such as Salary Sacrifice or personal after tax annuation contributions? The Choice legislation extended choice to employer SG contributions. Before the Choice legislation was passed, it was already possible to choose the fund where your salary sacrifice and personal after tax annuation contributions are paid. 2. Can I make additional voluntary annuation contributions to a complying fund? Post tax contributions are generally made personally by the employee after receiving their post tax salary payment, and can be made to a complying fund. Pre tax (salary sacrifice) contributions to a annuation fund are made via a salary packaging agreement between you and your employer. These transactions are governed by the Government s salary packaging policy guidelines. Please contact your HR officer if you wish to salary sacrifice annuation payments. The Salary Packaging Guidelines are available at the Department of Commerce s website at www.commerce.wa.gov.au as Labour Relations circular No 4, 2012. There may be limits to how much you can contribute to your by salary sacrifice, or before you will need to pay additional tax or post tax contributions. Further information is available under contributing extra to on ASIC s MoneySmart website. GESB can provide assistance regarding the different rules for making voluntary contributions to the GESB accumulation schemes, GESB Super and West State Super. 3. How do I terminate a salary packaging arrangement? If you wish to cease your current salary packaging arrangements you will need to contact your HR officer in the first instance. 4. Can I have my salary sacrifice packaged annuation contribution paid to a fund different from the fund that receives my employer SG contributions? Yes, but remember that you may then be paying fees for both funds. 5. Can I direct all my annuation contributions (including salary sacrifice and personal contributions) into my fund of choice? Yes, but if you are salary sacrificing some annuation contributions and wish to change funds then talk to your HR officer first. 7
Former employees 1. If I am no longer working for the WA State Government can I choose GESB for my employer SG or salary sacrifice contributions? No, if you are not working for the WA State Government, your employer SG or salary sacrifice contributions cannot be paid to a GESB account, or the FESS fund if you are a former FES department employee. Because they are in a constitutionally protected fund, GESB accounts are unable to receive these contributions from outside the WA public sector, and the FESS Fund is not open to private sector employers in general. Please visit the Former employees section of the Public Sector Superannuation website at www.treasury.wa.gov.au for more information. 2. I am leaving (or have left) Government employment. What do I do now? If you are a GESB member, then you should consider your annuation arrangements, as GESB is unable to receive contributions from your new employer. If you have several annuation accounts, fees and charges could be reducing your overall investment. Usually it is better to consolidate your into the one account with your current employer. However, before you decide to roll over your consider independent advice on whether it is in your best interests to do so, as you may not be able to rejoin a scheme you may have left. You can register for the Australian Tax Office s online services and use SuperSeeker (ato.gov.au/seeker) to check all your accounts, find any ATO-held or lost, and transfer your into one account using a simple online form. If you are not a member of GESB please call your current annuation fund for information on your options. 8
CHOICE OF SUPER Understanding the different annuation schemes 1. My annuation is currently with GESB. Where can I find more information on GESB? GESB Super is the default fund for most State Government employers, and is a State Government scheme. If you want more information about GESB, please contact GESB on 13 43 72. 2. My annuation is with another annuation fund, not GESB. Where can I find more information about my fund? You should talk to your employer about which fund they are currently making annuation contributions to on your behalf. Alternatively, you can contact the annuation fund by visiting its website or calling its member call centre. 3. Does Choice apply to me if I am a member of the FESS Fund? If you are a FESS Fund defined benefit member then you are not eligible for Choice. If you are a member of the accumulation scheme, please contact the Fire and Emergency Services Superannuation Fund for more information about your options at www.fes.com.au. y r It s m futu 9
Information including advice ( information ) provided in this brochure is given in good faith and solely on the basis that you are responsible for making your own assessment of it and that you obtain your own independent advice. The information should not be construed to waive any legal obligations on your part. The State of Western Australia and its servants expressly disclaim any liability and responsibility for the information contained in this brochure. Persons relying on this information waive and release the State of Western Australia and its servants to the full extent permitted by law from any and all claims relating to the use of the information. The State of Western Australia and its servants do not accept liability for any injury, loss or damage incurred by reliance on the information. This publication may not be reproduced or copied, except with the express permission of the Department of Treasury.