Members of Australian superannuation funds are experiencing large information gap on fees, the latest Investment Trends report has found.
The 2012 Member Sentiment and Communications report, developed in conjunction with QSuper, surveyed superannuation members on their understanding and attitude toward fees.
“Of the 11,000 super fund members surveyed, information on fees was the largest information gap across all kinds of super funds,” Investment Trends senior analyst Uwe Helmes said.
“More than half of those surveyed in the previous three years said they did not know how much their fund was charging them in fees.”
When respondents were asked what areas they would like more information on, 43 per cent said they would like more information to justify their fund’s administration fees, Helmes said.
The report also found that the level of fees was one of the main reasons members chose to switch from their main fund, with over 40 per cent of retail superannuation fund members who were planning to switch citing high fees as a reason.
QSuper chief executive Rosemary Vilgan said Australians can learn more about fees by contacting their fund.
“I encourage people to contact their funds and find out what fees they are paying and more importantly, what they are getting for the fees they are paying,” Vilgan said.
“With the exception of self-managed superannuation funds, all super funds have to disclose their fees, along with a fee comparison table in the product disclosure statement.”
She said as fees compounded over time it was imperative members received value for money, as it made a big difference to retirement savings.
The report was conducted between May and July this year.
