BEWARE OF INSURANCE CHANGES IN SUPERANNUATION

You may have heard a lot recently about super funds providing either opt-in or opt-out insurance and have wondered how will affect you and your retirement savings. Perhaps you’ve heard horror stories about super funds cancelling people’s insurance. Don’t fret, in most cases cancellation of insurance only happens in limited instances, and your fund will most likely notify you before any cancellation occurs. As for opt-in and opt-out insurance, the changes are coming, but not until 1 April 2020, so if you’re affected you’ll have plenty of time to prepare.

Insurance within superannuation has always been a mixed blessing, good for some who enjoy having cheaper insurance, while others see as an erosion of their super balances. It doesn’t matter which camp you fall into, the recent changes to the way super funds provide insurance may impact you depending on your super balance, age, and when your last contribution was.

Since July this year, super funds have been required to cancel insurance on accounts that have not received any contributions for at least 16 months unless the member elects to continue the cover. In addition, inactive super accounts with balances of under $6,000 will either be automatically consolidated by the ATO with other accounts you may hold or transferred to the ATO. If your super is transferred to the ATO, any insurance will also be cancelled.

This applies to life insurance, total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance and income protection (IP) insurance that you may have with your super fund. Before cancelling your insurance, your super fund will most likely notify you, although if you’re worried about your insurance being cancelled, you can contact your super fund to discuss your options.

Remember, once your insurance is cancelled, you can no longer make a claim and it doesn’t matter how long you had held the policy previously.

Whilst this change is designed to stop people from paying unnecessary insurance premiums, it can have unintended consequences for those on longer periods of leave such as parental leave and long-term sick leave. The best thing to do is to engage with your super fund regularly to ensure that an adequate level of insurance is maintained and you’re not paying too much for insurance cover you don’t need.

Another change coming to super funds in the not too distant future of 1 April 2020 is opt-in insurance for members under 25 years old and those with account balances of less than $6,000. From that date, members under 25 who start to hold a new choice or MySuper product will need to explicitly opt-in to insurance. Currently, the onus is on the member to opt-out of insurance if they do not want it. This change is designed to protect younger people on their first jobs from super balance erosion stemming from unnecessary insurance but may disadvantage those who assume that they will automatically have insurance based on previous rules.

For members with active super account balances less than $6,000, super funds will be required to notify them of the change in the opt-in insurance requirements by 1 December 2019. This will give members plenty of opportunity to opt-in to the relevant insurance policies by 1 April 2020 if they choose to do so.

However, if you work in a “dangerous occupation” such as a member of the police force, fire service or ambulance service, among other occupations, the change in the opt-in insurance requirement will not apply to you even if you’re under 25 years or have balances below $6,000.

The insurance changes may be good for some and not so for others, it is difficult to strike the right balance between the two camps. The best thing you can do for yourself is have an awareness of your superannuation, including fees, insurance and other outgoings. After all, it is your hard-earned money and you want it to be working hard for your retirement.

Need help?

Do you need help in figuring out if you’re affected by the changes in insurance rules in superannuation? Perhaps you’d like help in working out how much insurance cover you really need to protect you and your family? Or maybe you’d just like to get your super organised by consolidating your accounts? We can help you with this and more, contact us today.