In May 2024 we sent an update to our members about some upcoming account changes – as well as changes to key super rates and thresholds – all set to take effect from 1 July 2024. We’ve included additional detail on the key changes here, plus some handy FAQs on the fee changes.
From 1 July, a number of changes to our super and retirement income accounts will take effect, including changes to some of our fees, changes to our insurance, and changes to our investments. Explore the links below to find out more.
Changes from 1 July 2024 | |
| Yearly asset-based administration fee reduction | We’re reducing the yearly asset-based administration fee. This fee is currently 0.22% a year. It’s only applied to the first $500,000 of your account balance and is capped at a maximum charge of $1,100 a year. From 1 July this fee will reduce to 0.19% and the maximum charge will reduce to $950 a year.^ Note that the weekly administration fee of $1 remains unchanged. |
New insurance fee | A new insurance fee will apply, but only for members who have insurance cover through the Fund. The insurance fee will be calculated at 4% of premiums. From 1 July our insurance costs will increase to reflect the inclusion of this 4% fee, with a single amount deducted from the member’s account each month.* |
^ No asset-based administration fee applies to any portion of your balance above $500,000. Therefore, the maximum asset-based administration fee that can be charged on any single account can’t exceed $950 a year.
* As a super fund, we receive a 15% tax rebate from the government for the insurance premiums we charge our members. We then pass this rebate back to you by reducing the amount of tax we deduct from your account (not all funds return the rebate to their members). It means you’re essentially receiving a 15% discount on the cost of any insurance cover you may have with us.
Changes from 1 July 2024 | |
Weekly administration fee | We’re reducing the weekly administration fee from $1.95 a week to $1 a week. |
Yearly asset-based administration fee | We’re reducing the yearly asset-based administration fee. This fee is currently 0.20% a year. It’s only applied to the first $500,000 of your account balance and is capped at a maximum charge of $1,000 a year. From 1 July this fee will reduce to 0.19% a year and the maximum charge will reduce to $950 a year.^ |
^ No asset-based administration fee applies to any portion of your balance above $500,000. Therefore, the maximum asset-based administration fee that can be charged across your combined retirement accounts can’t exceed $950 a year.
We continue to review the terms and conditions of our insurance offering to ensure that the needs of members are being met. Some of the terms and conditions in the insurance policy will be changing on 1 July 2024. A summary is provided below.
Each of our investment options has a time frame (or ‘time horizon’) over which we aim to achieve the option’s stated investment objective. From 1 July 2024, we’re increasing the time horizons for our Balanced and Capital Stable investment objectives to 10 years, as shown in the table below.
This will align the time horizon for these options with our other Diversified options, and with the time horizons used for the Your Future, Your Super performance test.
| Option name | Current net return investment objective | New net return investment objective |
| Balanced (Accumulation / TTR Income) | 2% above CPI over rolling 7-year periods | 2% above CPI over rolling 10-year periods |
| Balanced (Retirement Income) | 2.5% above CPI over rolling 7-year periods | 2.5% above CPI over rolling 10-year periods |
| Capital Stable (Accumulation / TTR Income) | 1.5% above CPI over rolling 5-year periods | 1.5% above CPI over rolling 10-year periods |
| Capital Stable (Retirement Income) | 1.5% above CPI over rolling 5-year periods | 1.5% above CPI over rolling 10-year periods |
We’re making small adjustments to some of the permitted ranges for investing in the Australian shares and overseas asset classes in some of the Diversified options as follows:
The strategic asset allocations permitted range will change for the Australian shares and Overseas shares asset classes.
| Asset class | Current permitted range | New permitted range |
| Australian shares | 33-53% | 25-53% |
| Overseas shares | 38-58% | 30-58% |
The strategic asset allocations permitted range will change for the Australian shares asset class.
| Asset class | Current permitted range | New permitted range |
| Australian shares | 25-60% | 20-55% |
The strategic asset allocations permitted range will change for the Australian shares asset class.
| Asset class | Current permitted range | New permitted range |
| Australian shares | 10-45% | 5-40% |
A standard risk measure (SRM) is given to each investment option. It’s designed to provide members with an indication of how many years of negative returns we might expect from that investment option over a 20-year period. The SRMs for all but one investment option will be reducing from 1 July 2024. (The SRM for the Cash investment option will remain unchanged at zero.)
| Investment option | Current SRM | New SRM from 1 July 2024 | ||
| Negative returns | SRM label | Negative returns | SRM label | |
| DIVERSIFIED OPTIONS | ||||
| Growth Plus | 5.1 | High | 4.7 | High |
| Growth | 4.9 | High | 4.4 | High |
| Balanced Growth | 4.2 | High | 3.7 | Medium to high |
| MySuper | 4.2 | High | 3.7 | Medium to high |
| Balanced | 3.7 | Medium to high | 3.2 | Medium to high |
| Capital Stable | 2.3 | Medium | 1.8 | Low to medium |
| Index Diversified | 4.9 | High | 4.5 | High |
| Future Focus | 3.8 | Medium to high | 3.2 | Medium to high |
| SECTOR SPECIFIC OPTIONS | ||||
| Australian Shares | 6 | Very high | 5.8 | High |
| Overseas Shares | 5.5 | High | 5.3 | High |
| Diversified Fixed Interest | 2.1 | Medium | 1.9 | Low to medium |
| Cash | 0 | Very low | 0 | Very low |
Investment fees and costs for each investment option will remain unchanged for the next year. Performance fees and transaction costs have been recalculated based on the experience of the past 12 months. For the Future Focus investment option, transaction costs for the past year were 0.38% per annum as a result of some new investments which focus on the transition to a lower-carbon economy.
Below are the investment fees for each investment option (for accumulation and retirement income accounts) effective 1 July 2024.
| Investment option | Investment fees and costs | Performance fee (5-year average) | Total investment fees and costs | Transaction costs |
| Growth Plus | 0.53% | 0.03% | 0.56% | 0.11% |
| Growth | 0.48% | 0.03% | 0.51% | 0.11% |
| Balanced Growth | 0.49% | 0.02% | 0.51% | 0.11% |
| MySuper | 0.49% | 0.02% | 0.51% | 0.11% |
| Balanced | 0.40% | 0.02% | 0.42% | 0.10% |
| Capital Stable | 0.35% | 0.02% | 0.37% | 0.10% |
| Future Focus | 0.63% | 0.00% | 0.63% | 0.38% |
| Index Diversified | 0.05% | 0.00% | 0.05% | 0.05% |
| Overseas Shares | 0.42% | 0.02% | 0.44% | 0.07% |
| Australian Shares | 0.43% | 0.02% | 0.45% | 0.08% |
| Diversified Fixed Interest | 0.14% | 0.00% | 0.14% | 0.04% |
| Cash | 0.04% | 0.00% | 0.04% | 0.00% |
| Defined Benefit | 0.47% | 0.03% | 0.50% | 0.12% |
A number of the thresholds and rates set by the government will also change from 1 July, as detailed below.
| Total super balance 2023-24 | Bring forward cap 2023-24 | Total super balance 2024-25 | Bring forward cap 2024-25 |
| Less than $1.68 million | $330,000 (three years) | Less than $1.66 million | $360,000 (three years) |
| $1.68 million to <$1.79 million | $220,000 (two years) | $1.66 million to <$1.78 million | $240,000 (two years) |
| $1.79 million to <$1.9 million | $110,000 (one year) | $1.78 million to <$1.9 million | $120,000 (one year) |
| $1.9 million or greater | Nil | $1.9 million or greater | Nil |
| Income | Financial year 2023-24 | From 1 July 2024 (for financial year 2024-25) |
| Minimum income | $43,445 | $45,400 |
| Maximum income | $58,445 | $60,400 |
We’ve put together some FAQs to explain the changes we’re making to our fees and costs in more detail, and to help you understand what they mean for your account.
Our Fund has grown in recent years (for example through our merger with Equip Super), and that’s allowed us to operate the Fund more cost-effectively. More recently, we also consolidated and streamlined the Fund’s operations across our different brands, which led to cost and efficiency improvements.
We’re passing those benefits on to our members with these fee reductions – because as a profit-to-member super fund, that’s what we do. We use our profits to benefit you, our members, by creating and maintaining a range of products and services to help you achieve better outcomes for your retirement.
Catholic Super is on par with other industry super funds, and we’re cheaper than the overall super fund average.* What’s more, independent ratings agency, SuperRatings, has consistently awarded us their highest platinum performance rating as a ‘Best value for money’ fund.^
* Chant West Super Fund (MySuper) fee survey December 2023.
^ SuperRatings platinum performance rating as a ‘Best value for money’ fund, more than 15 years in a row.
From 1 July the yearly asset-based administration fee for accumulation accounts will reduce to 0.19% and the maximum charge will reduce to $950 a year.
The asset-based administration fee only applies to the first $500,000 of your account balance. No asset-based administration fee is charged on any portion of your balance that’s above $500,000. This effectively caps the fee at a maximum of $950 a year. If you have a smaller account balance, the asset-based administration fee you pay will be lower.
From 1 July, the yearly asset-based administration fee for our retirement income accounts will reduce to 0.19% a year and the maximum charge will reduce to $950 a year.
The asset-based administration fee only applies to the first $500,000 of your account balance. No asset-based administration fee is charged on any portion of your balance that’s above $500,000.
If you have more than one Retirement Income account, this applies to your combined account balance. Therefore, the maximum asset-based administration fee that can be charged can’t exceed $950 a year across all your retirement income accounts combined.
If you have a smaller account balance, the yearly asset-based administration fee you pay will be lower.
Log into your account online and head to the ‘account activity’ section at any time to see the fees you’re paying for your super or retirement income account (and any insurance you may have with that account).
In addition, each year we send you a detailed account statement which includes information about the fees you’ve paid over the course of the financial year (to 30 June).
You can also learn more about fees and costs for each of our products on our website and also in the relevant PDS for your account.
The new insurance fee will apply from 1 July 2024, but only for members who have insurance cover through the Fund. The fee does not apply to members who don’t have insurance cover through the Fund.
The insurance fee will be calculated at 4% of premiums. From 1 July our insurance costs will increase to reflect the inclusion of this 4% fee, with a single amount deducted from the member’s account each month.*
So, from 1 July, your cost per $1,000 of insurance cover will include the premium you pay (which goes to our insurer, MetLife), and the 4% insurance fee (which is paid to the Fund), rounded to two decimal places. Insurance costs are deducted from your account as a single amount each month.
| Components of your insurance cost from 1 July 2024 | ||||
| Insurance premium (paid to the insurer) | + | 4% insurance fee (paid to the Fund) | = | Your insurance cost |
Insurance can provide a range of important benefits, including financial protection for you and your family if you’re unable to work due to disablement, or if you pass away, and peace of mind simply from knowing that you and your loved ones are covered.
Having insurance through your super may also provide some additional benefits. For example, the premiums you pay for insurance through your super are likely to be cheaper than if you were to buy insurance privately. And, those premiums are taken straight from your super account, rather than putting a dent in your take-home pay.
The insurance premium is the price our insurer, MetLife, charges for your insurance cover.
The new insurance fee, however, is instead paid to the Fund (not the insurer). It’s intended to help us cover the cost of providing our members with our award-winning insurance offer.
A single amount, made up of both the premium and the insurance fee, is deducted from your account each month.
Log into your account online at any time to check whether you have insurance cover through the Fund. A summary of your cover (if you have it) will be displayed on the dashboard once you’re logged in. You can find out more about any cover you have by selecting the ‘Insurance’ tab from the dropdown menu on the right.
Alternatively, you can give our team a call on 1300 655 002, Monday to Friday 8:30 am – 6:00 pm (AET), and we’ll gladly assist.
Insurance cover is not available through a Retirement Income account.
If you have a Transition to Retirement Income account and you also have an accumulation account with us, you may have insurance cover through your accumulation account, depending on your eligibility and whether you have taken out cover.
The type of insurance and the amount of cover that’s right for you depends on a range of factors specific to your circumstances and your stage in life. You’ll find a range of resources on our website to help you work out what your needs may be when it comes to insurance.
Your circumstances don’t always stay the same, and neither does what you need from your insurance over time. That’s why we’ve designed our insurance cover to be as flexible as possible. You can apply for more cover, make a change to your type of cover, decrease your cover, or cancel your cover, at any stage.
Full details of insurance premiums and other insurance costs will be included in the PDS and member guide, Insurance in your super, available on our website from 1 July 2024.
If you have any queries about these changes, or if you’d like to talk to us about how they may impact you and your Catholic Super account, our team can help.
