ASIC urges super trustees to step up death benefit claims handling

Yasmine Raso

Senior Journalist

10 June 2026

The ongoing failure of some superannuation trustees to address issues and faults in their death benefits claim handling processes and delivery of member services is contributing to an overall “weakness” in the industry’s ability to readily provide for its ageing member base.

That is the assessment from a new progress report released by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on Tuesday, which found the laggards – who are yet to implement “basic process improvements” in response to recommendations handed down by the corporate watchdog last year – are impeding on the industry’s overall progress and negating the positive steps other trustees have taken to address the failures.

ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant said Report 831, Delivering on death benefits: Have super trustees stepped up?, linked the increase in the volume of claims to concerns that some super trustees remain not well positioned to “meet future service pressures from Australia’s ageing population”.

“There are some promising findings in this report, including a 53% reduction in internal complaints about death benefit delays from early 2024 to late 2025,” Commissioner Constant said.

“However, with claims volumes increasing by 10% in the 12 months to October 2025 and with that growth expected to continue in the context of Australia’s ageing population, it’s clear that more work needs to be done if all trustees are to meet member expectations.

“We’re particularly concerned that some trustees have not actioned basic process improvements and continue exposing grieving beneficiaries to harm at times of heightened emotional and financial distress.”

The latest progress report found four areas where superannuation trustees should best look to improve processes:
• Measuring end-to-end claim times and holding themselves to account by setting performance targets that align to positive claimant outcomes.
• Being responsible for their own risk appetite and customer impact in the processing of low-value and low-risk claims, especially the practice of claims staking.
• Treating their members and claimants as customers, helping with proactive communications about the most important steps like making a valid binding death benefit nomination. This is of heightened importance where there are language and communication barriers.
• Enhancing support for First Nations members and claimants, including updating identification and other practices that produce sub-optimal outcomes.

“There is no excuse for delays in delivering better outcomes for death benefit claimants. Super trustees have now had over two years to respond to concerns that we began raising back in 2024 with our publication on improving superannuation member services in May 2024 and a direct letter to CEOs on assessing practices for handling death benefit claims in November 2024,” Commissioner Constant said.

“Trustees that have made positive steps in the right direction should sustain this momentum and ensure they are equipped to manage future service pressures.

“For trustees that have failed to take effective action, our progress review should serve as a wake-up call ahead of the Commonwealth Government’s proposed introduction of mandatory member services standards.

“Fund members have a right to expect claims will be handled efficiently, honestly and fairly — this is an obligation for trustees under law. ASIC will consider the full range of regulatory tools at our disposal, including enforcement action, if trustees fail in this crucial obligation.

“We have done it before and if we need to, we will do it again.  This is a mission critical area for trust Australians place in their superannuation system.”

The corporate watchdog also took the opportunity to confirm that, as part of its “multi-year member services review”, it is also examining how super trustees are using member complaints data to “identify and address systemic issues and to improve service delivery”.

“A surge in complaints relating to death benefits was a catalyst for our review of claims handling. In the same way, trustees should use complaints data as an early warning system to detect and mitigate risks to members,” Commissioner Constant said.

“Unfortunately, despite complaint numbers and trends rising overall between 2020 and 2026, early findings indicate that five of the 10 trustees we are reviewing have not identified a single systemic issue from analysis of their complaints data over our review period. At least one trustee failed to analyse their complaints data at all. This is baffling, and frankly, unacceptable.”