Significant Event Notices

1. Ongoing administration fee reduction from 0.25% to 0.20% per year, and the administration fee cap reduction from $2,120 to $750 per year
2. Administration fee rebate for members with an open Accumulation Plan account at 31 May 2023, applied by adjusting the unit prices for all investment options
3. Six of our nine investment options will be renamed, and all investment options will be put into two classifications: diversified options and single asset class options
4. The Group Insurance contract will be renewed with AIA with ten policy changes that may benefit members, and no changes to insurance premiums.

1. Ongoing administration fee reduction from 0.25% to 0.20% per year, and the administration fee cap reduction from $2,120 to $750 per year
2. Administration fee rebate for members with an open Accumulation Plan account at 31 May 2023, applied by adjusting the unit prices for all investment options
3. Six of our nine investment options will be renamed, and all investment options will be put into two classifications: diversified options and single asset class options
4. Minimum drawdowns reverting back to pre-pandemic rates.

1. Administration fee rebate for members with an open Beneficiary Account at 31 May 2023, applied by adjusting the unit prices for all investment options
2. Six of our nine investment options will be renamed, and all investment options will be put into two classifications: diversified options and single asset class options.

1. If a member of the ESSS Defined Benefit (DB) Fund has an Accumulation Plan account at the time they terminate employment with an emergency services employer, their Accumulation Plan account will continue to accrue earnings based on the daily unit price of their nominated investment option, or the current default investment option if they have not selected an investment option. Their ESSS DB Fund lump sum will continue to have late payment interest, at the ESSS DB Fund earning rate, applied to it until their combined ESSS DB Fund lump sum and Accumulation Plan account is paid according to their instructions or 60 days elapses, whichever occurs first.
2. If a member does not provide payment instructions for their combined accounts within 60 days, their Accumulation Plan account and their ESSS DB Fund lump sum benefit will be transferred to a new Accumulation Plan account and the combined amount invested in the default investment option (currently the Growth investment option).
3. If a member dies, their Accumulation Plan account will be switched to the Cash investment option on the date ESSSuper is notified of the death and will accrue earnings based on the daily unit price of the Cash investment option.

• Introduction of daily unit pricing and switching for Accumulation Plan, Beneficiary Account and Income Streams investment options
• Changes to administration fees and insurance premium deduction frequency for Accumulation Plan, Beneficiary Account and Income Streams products
• Changes to Income Streams withdrawal window.

1. On 1 April 2021, the Accumulation Plan Insurer, CommInsure, was acquired by AIA. AIA is now the Insurer for all our Accumulation Plan life insurance products. The cost of Death and TPD cover will increase. The maximum eligibility age for Death and TPD cover will increase from age 65 to 70. The definition of TPD will be broadened.
2. The transfer balance cap will increase from $1.6 million to $1.7 million.
3. The concessional contributions cap will increase from $25,000 to $27,500 per financial year. The non-concessional contributions cap will increase from $100,000 to $110,000 per financial year.

1. The ESSSuper Board has approved the appointment of Pendal Fund Services Limited (Pendal) as the sole investment manager of the Ethically Minded option. From that date, all new and existing proceeds for the Ethically Minded option managed under the interim arrangements will be transferred across to be managed by Pendal.
2. Changes will be made to the strategic asset allocations and investment objectives for some investment options available to ESSSuper members in the Accumulation Plan, Beneficiary Account, Working Income Stream and/or Retirement Income Stream.

Administration fee for accounts with balances under $6,000

• Current arrangement: administration fees are limited to the amount of interest earned p.a. for accounts with balances under $1,000 in the Accumulation Plan. This is known as Member Benefit Protection. 
• From 1 July 2019: for all Accumulation, Beneficiary and Income Stream accounts with a balance under $6,000 on the last day of the financial year, total fees (including all administration, investment and indirect costs) will be capped at a maximum of 3%.

Maximum administration fee 

• Current arrangement: administration fee is capped at $1,500. 
• From 1 July 2019: administration fee will be capped at $2,000, with annual indexation of CPI or 3% (whichever is greater, rounded to the nearest $10).

Changes to Insurance for Accumulation Plan.

The following insurance changes were made to the Accumulation Plan:

• The Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) definition was changed.
• The requirement for a member to be 'at work' at the end of the two year pre-existing condition exclusion was replaced by an 'active employment' test.
• The maximum age for transferring insurance cover from another fund in to ESSSuper was changed to 55.
• The ability to claim a Terminal Illness benefit was changed from a 12 to a 24 month certification period. The maximum insured benefit payable on Terminal Illness is limited to $1 million.
• The maximum cover for both Death and TPD is $2 million for new members. Existing members with higher cover can retain their cover at the higher level.
• A 24 month suicide exclusion clause was added for Death, TPD and Terminal Illness cover for members whose cover increases either through normal underwriting or the Life Events Option.

Changes to Transaction Reporting for Accumulation Plan, Beneficiary Account and Income Streams.

Accumulation Plan, Beneficiary Account and Income Streams:

• The way the indirect cost ratio is reported was changed to make it easier for members to clearly see the costs involved in investing their super.
• Members will no longer be sent confirmation of investment switches, contributions and other transactions by mail unless specifically requested to receive confirmations by mail. Confirmations will be made via Members Online.

Changes to Investments for Accumulation Plan, Beneficiary Account and Income Streams.

Accumulation Plan, Beneficiary Account and Income Streams:

• The investment objective for the Defensive, Term Deposit and Cash investment options were changed.
• Changes were made to the strategic asset allocations of the Shares Only, High Growth, Growth, Balanced, Conservative and Defensive investment options, and at the same time some asset class names were changed to better reflect the underlying assets held within the investment option. This resulted in the allocation of assets between Growth assets and Defensive assets changing for the Growth, Balanced and Conservative investment options.
• The risk/band label and the estimated number of negative annual returns over any 20 year period for both the High Growth and the Conservative investment options were updated.

Introduction of product changes under the Superannuation Legislation Amendment Act 2013 (SLAA).

SLAA amends the governing rules to provide for:

For ESSS Defined Benefit Scheme, New Scheme and Transport Scheme

• the introduction of a binding death benefit nomination facility in respect to lump sum defined benefit schemes.

ESSS Defined Benefit Scheme

• the introduction of an exempt out option for members aged 65 years and over, enabling them to withdraw their benefit without resigning from emergency services employment
• A new entitlement for all members to allow retrospective disability claims to be made up to a maximum of 6 years after ceasing employment.

For all State Super Fund members

• a restriction of 6 years to retrospective disability claims made by state super members who cease employment after 1 July 2014 (state super members who cease employment prior to 1 July 2014 continue to have an unrestricted ability to claim retrospectively).

Changes to administration and account keeping fees for Accumulation Plan and Income Streams.

Accumulation Plan members:

• $52 p.a., plus
• 0.25% p.a. of a member's account balance (subject to a combined maximum of $1,500 p.a.)
• For emergency services employees and their spouses the administration fee is subject to a combined minimum of $78 p.a.¹

Income Stream members:

• $52 p.a., plus
• 0.25% p.a. of a member's account balance (subject to a combined maximum of $1,500 p.a.)

1. A discount may apply for emergency services employees and their spouses where the administration fee is above $78 p.a.

The Beneficiary Account was closed to new taxed members.

The Beneficiary Account was closed to new taxed members (still open for members transferring 100% of their benefit under an untaxed arrangement) from 1 Jan 2014. New defined contribution members are allocated to the Accumulation Plan.

The Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Fund (PCSF) was integrated into the Emergency Services Superannuation Scheme (ESSS).

The Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Fund (PCSF) was integrated into the Emergency Services Superannuation Scheme (ESSS), effective 1 April 2014. This resulted in the transfer of the trusteeship of the PCSF to the Emergency Services Superannuation Board and the merger of the assets of the PCSF into the state scheme defined pool of assets.

Insurance changes made to the Accumulation Plan.

Effective 1 January 2014, the following insurance changes were made to the Accumulation Plan:

• Default Death and TPD cover increased from 2 to 3 units for new and existing members.
• The Automatic Acceptance Limit for income protection increased from 10 to 15 units for non-operational and teacher/professional categories.
• Life Events cover was made available allowing members to increase their level of existing Death and TPD or Death Only insurance cover without the need for underwriting.