The 2012 edition of the KPMG Superannuation Fund Internet Capability Survey found that the manner in which members interact with their superannuation fund via electronic media was changing the development of funds’ member engagement programs.
The average cost per member per annum for the provision of the online capabilities was less than 65 cents, with the majority of funds surveyed spending between 70 and 90 cents per annum, the survey said.
In addition, super funds promoted their websites by a number of means, such as member material and prizes, in order to maximise its usage by members and employers.
“Forty-two per cent of funds surveyed were utilising popular social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube as a means to promote their website,” the survey said.
A small number of funds were also experimenting with other sites such as Vimeo, Pinterest and tools such as iTunes podcasts.
“The industry has remained stable over the past two years with regard to providing improvements to the core areas of functionality, translating to such services appearing to be no longer considered an area of differentiation across funds,” the survey said.
“New functionality offerings ranged from self-assessment tools that suggested appropriate levels of insurance, to social media feeds appearing on the website homepage.”
A quarter of participants provided a mobile version of the fund’s website to its members however this segment of the market was still considered in its infancy, with mobile versions providing only a fraction of what the conventional site offered.
This was due primarily to content restraints caused by smaller viewable areas on mobile devices and generally slower mobile internet speeds, the survey said.
In regards to SuperStream, which would attempt to improve back office efficiency of the superannuation industry, 26 per cent of participants said it would increase efficiencies while 71 per cent were unsure of what the measure’s effect would be.
The survey reviewed 31 participants representing funds drawn from large multi-employer, public sector and corporate sponsored superannuation funds. The views captured in the survey represented funds managing 9.5 million member accounts, which was close to one third of total superannuation accounts in Australia.
