Superannuation: Nicola Field Apps and tools to help members
Bots and apps are among the high-tech tools that help fund members make the right choices
Super funds are bringing their A game to the table to help members learn more about their super. Australians have $2.6 trillion tucked away in superannuation, making it the second-largest asset most of us will have in our lifetime after a home. But we’re still not embracing super in the way we do property.
Two out of five Australians under 29 have no idea how much they have in super; one in four hold multiple super funds; and the system is awash with $18 billion worth of lost, forgotten or unclaimed super savings.
As a report by accounting firm KPMG put it, many of us simply have minimal interaction with our fund. Part of the problem, especially for younger people, is that the rewards of super belong to a far-off future. But there’s another hurdle: a significant knowledge gap about how super works. Research by Sunsuper, for instance, found 72% of workers don’t know that the super guarantee rate is 9.5% (that’s the percentage of your wage the boss contributes to your fund).
So super funds are doing something about it, making a big investment in a range of initiatives to help members become better informed about their super, and making it easier to take steps to control their super today even if it can’t be accessed until much later on.
From digital tools to free seminars, it’s worth knowing what’s available because the more we understand super, the easier it is to make the right choices for our retirement money.
Digital connections
At a time when Australians are increasingly using smartphones, tablets and other digital devices to stay connected, it’s no surprise that one of the key areas where super funds are focusing their efforts is the development of digital service channels.
“The last 12 months saw a host of interesting developments by super funds, including an increase in the number of fund mobile apps, increased social media activity and direct engagement through online chat and bot-based applications,” says Ian Webster, technology analyst at Investment Trends.
One of the pluses of digital tools is that they particularly appeal to the millennial generation, who have grown up with digital communication. This matters to funds because while millennials account for only 22% of the population today, by 2025 they will represent 33% of the workforce. That makes younger workers a rich source of future contributions, highlighting the need to engage with this segment of the workforce.
Just as the number of super funds offering mobile apps has risen rapidly, so too has the functionality of apps. AustralianSuper is one of a number of funds with an app that sends alerts when money has been paid into a member’s account. This not only sends a strong message to members that their super is steadily growing, it also provides an early
warning mechanism to know if an employer is dodging their compulsory super obligations. It’s a problem the tax office says has cost Australians $2.85 billion in unpaid employer super contributions, and without this type of alert members may not be aware that the boss is robbing them of regular contributions until their annual fund statement arrives.
Newcomer Grow Super, which targets millennials, has an app that takes the effort out of making extra contributions. Members can use it to round up the change on everyday purchases and deposit it to their account as a personal contribution.
Increasingly, though, apps are being used as a way to speak to members directly. Industry fund Rest has introduced in-app real-time messaging.
AustralianSuper has also launched in-app messaging. “We saw an opportunity to better build relationships and talk with our members to help them achieve their retirement goals,” says Shawn Blackmore, AustralianSuper’s group executive, member experience and advice. “With the updated mobile app that includes in-app messaging, members can now have direct access to AustralianSuper instantly.”
AustSafe Super is keeping members informed through the use of push notification alerts via its app. “As a fund, it’s really important to be able to offer our members this functionality,” says Craig Stevens, AustSafe Super chief executive officer. “It will help them engage more easily and frequently with their super, and they can quickly see when contributions have been paid.”
The AustSafe Super app also helps members stick with one fund throughout their working life, reducing the potential for lost super or multiple funds. “There’s functionality within the app that gives members the ability to send
a pre-populated choice form to their new employer at the click of a button, making it easy to take their super fund with them when they change jobs,” says Stevens.
Chatbots on the job
Technology is also being used to let fund members have their questions about super answered in just a few clicks. Several of the larger funds have invested in chatbots
– also known as online virtual assistants. These are computer programs that pop up on a fund’s web page offering to answer members’ questions. It allows members to have simple queries sorted in real time 24 hours a day.
AustralianSuper recently launched its chatbot “Ash” with plans to integrate the bot into in-app messaging further down the track. Rest’s virtual assistant “Roger” has been up and running for some time, and is able to respond to 96% of questions posed to it online.
Rest recently took its chatbot a step further, integrating Roger into Google Home, giving members spoken responses to commonly asked questions. It’s a move that Beth Parkin, Rest’s general manager, customer service, says “gives us new ways to connect with our members at times convenient to them, and in ways that are relevant to their lifestyles”.
Rest isn’t the only fund to make its chatbot available on Google Home devices. MLC has jumped on the bandwagon with Talk to MLC, which has been programmed to answer the 15 most common questions people ask, including how they can open an account, change their investment options and find lost super.
Online resources
Apps and chatbots make it easier for members to stay in touch with their super on the go but they don’t always provide the level of information members need to really understand the nuts and bolts of how super works. Realising this, funds provide a wide range of online education tools.
Members of AustSafe Super (which has announced a merger with Sunsuper) can access a library of fact sheets covering everything from salary sacrificing to government co-contribution. This is backed up by a content hub featuring articles pitched at different member segments. AustSafe Super has also invested in MoneyTree, a financial literacy program comprising a series of online learning modules covering super and money management issues such as debt, family finances and investing. Technology is allowing many of these online resources to become more personalised. Most super funds provide a suite of online calculators that allow members to work out things such as their likely super balance on retirement but VicSuper has ramped up this offering with the launch of “Beeline”. It’s a fully guided online coaching program that gives fund members financial guidance and advice on their super using a personalised interactive dashboard linked to their account in real time. This way members get a highly accurate snapshot of their progress towards achieving the income they want in retirement.
Even annual statements are getting a digital revamp. Cbus, an industry fund pitched at building and construction, is providing members with a personal video snapshot alongside their statement. It can show at a glance if you’re on track for a comfortable future – and what to do if you’re not.
Education seminars
Digital tools are convenient especially during the accumulation stage. What they lack is the human touch that’s often needed as we head towards retirement and the drawdown phase. It’s at this point that people tend to want face-to-face delivery of information. And funds are stepping up to the plate, offering regular information seminars for members.
These seminars are definitely worth taking advantage of. They normally come at no cost to members, and part of the appeal is that they are not a hard sell. The presentations are often led by the fund’s relationship managers, with opportunities for participants to ask questions. The topics covered vary widely. First State Super, for example, regularly holds seminars on anything from how to plan for retirement, contribution strategies, aged care and the best super investment options available for various risk profiles. To find out what your fund offers, check the fund website or inquire about receiving alerts for upcoming events.
Seminars are often held in metropolitan locations. However, country dwellers don’t have to miss out. AustSafe Super, which focuses on regional and rural Australia, often takes its seminars to the bush and at times has even held events in local woolsheds.
If you can’t make it to a seminar on a topic you’re interested in, ask your fund about webinars – some, such as GESB Super, offer this option.
Financial advice
One aspect of super funds’ information offerings that can easily be overlooked is the availability of financial advice. General or “simple” advice is available over the phone, face to face or via email or webcam depending on your fund. This type of advice is free as the cost is factored into the fund fees. The downside is that the information provided is limited to your current super fund. So it’s not an option if you want to know whether you should switch funds. That said, it’s a way for members to build their understanding of issues such as how to grow super or choose between investment strategies.
Funds can also provide “scaled” advice that covers one or two specific financial issues. UniSuper says demand for this type of advice is growing. “While phone-based and digital scaled advice have a place, for members wanting to discuss more complex needs or approaching retirement there is a clear preference to have these discussions in person,” says UniSuper executive Jack McCartney.
Reflecting this, UniSuper is taking financial advice direct to members, opening on-campus shopfronts at Monash University, Sydney University and a number of other campuses. McCartney says this type of advice model has been especially popular among members aged in their 40s.
The bottom line is that super funds are making a serious effort to help members become more informed about their super. It’s worth a look to see what your fund offers. When it comes to super, knowledge is power and it could be the thing that transforms your super savings from “meh” to magnificent.