Do you owe a large payout? Australia’s largest pension fund pays back $70 million to 100,000 clients after massive blunder
- AustralianSuper double taxed members
- The fund will pay back $70 million
- One in eight Aussies is in the fund
Australia’s largest super-fund has apologized and reported to regulators after inadvertently double-charging members with multiple accounts.
AustralianSuper announced Friday that it is setting aside $70 million to repay about 100,000 members an average of $650.
“AustralianSuper’s aim is to return these members to the financial position they would be in today had this not happened,” the fund said in a statement.
“This may include the refund of administration fees and any insurance charges deducted from affected members’ secondary account, along with any lost earnings on these amounts.”
AustralianSuper will pay back $70 million to 100,000 members
The supergiant said it regularly scans the accounts of its nearly three million members – about one in eight working Australians – to combine multiple accounts from one member to save them extra costs.
But the processes missed some multiple accounts.
“This should not have happened and we apologize unreservedly to members,” AustralianSuper said.
AustralianSuper had $258 billion in member assets under management as of June 30 last year. Named the most trusted pension brand by Reader’s Digest Australia for 10 years in a row, it is owned by the Australian Council of Trade Unions and employers’ organization the Australian Industry Group.
Members who get a refund receive an average of $650