Brighter Super leverages $6.98m in CGT to retain members
Queensland-based industry superannuation fund, Brighter Super, has claimed success for one of its member retention strategies – its Retirement Reward bonus scheme.
The $35 billion 280,000 member fund which grew out of the old LGIA Super, Energy Super and Suncorp Super announced this week that its Retirement Reward scheme had delivered almost $7 million to 2,635 members in the form of one-off “Retirement reward bonuses” ranging from $1,600 to $16,000 last financial year.
According to the fund, the Retirement Reward is a Brighter Super benefit, paid when members transfer from an Accumulation or Transition to Retirement (TTR) account into a Pension account provided they remain Brighter Super members for at least 12 months.
It said the Retirement Reward payment “recognises a portion of capital gains tax that has been set aside”.
“As a Brighter Super member transfers growth assets – such as shares – from a taxed Accumulation or TTR Pension account, into a tax-free pension account, Brighter Super returns this portion to members,” the fund said.
“The Retirement Reward is reviewed annually. For FY25, the reward was set at 0.8%, with a maximum of $16,000 payable on a transfer amount of $2 million. The rate will remain the same for the next 12 months, though it may vary in future depending on investment market conditions.”
Brighter Super head of retirement, Jennifer McSpadden said the $6.98 million paid out in “Retirement Rewards” was more than triple the $2 million paid out in the previous financial year.
“I’m delighted to see so many of our members benefiting from this initiative. This reward makes a real difference, whether members choose to use the money for travel, a new car, or to top up their retirement savings,” she said.
Well done Brighter Super. This ‘benefit’ is routinely enjoyed by SMSF members that move their super into the retirement phase and extinguish any CGT liability when selling assets after doing so.
although some industry funds also now offer this so-called ‘bonus’ (not really what it is…the accrual for future CGT is part of the members money, not the funds) the majority don’t, and this is inequitable and in my view can well be argued to also be failing the members best financial interests duty.
Or the other way of thinking is they improperly ripped people off & over taxed “all” fund members by creating a provision for a future estimated tax, and the marketing team had lunch with the accounting team and the next thing is we’ve got a very clever lock me in. “retirement bonus”.
oh but net performance is and has been a dirty word, and we especially now can’t say anything about performance with Shield etc.
Explain to me how this in members interests equitably?
We’re going to induce you with your own money because of the shortfalls in our own pooled tax structure as a retention tool? Is this what that is?