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Fees & other costs

AustralianSuper offers superannuation in a low-cost structure.

AustralianSuper’s size helps keep fees low. A flat administration fee of $1.50 per week and competitive investment management fees mean more super savings for you.

AustralianSuper fees at a glance

Account management costs Amount
Administration fee $1 per week ($1.50 from 1 January 2009)
Adviser service fee Charged by your adviser for advice about your investment(s) in the Fund. Nil
Investment management costs For the 2008/09 financial year the figure ranged from 0.09% pa to 1.08% pa of your account balance, depending on your investment option. ** Detailed list Range from 0.09% to 1.08% pa
Member benefit protection (MBP) 2008/09 0.06% pa
Member benefit protection (MBP) for 2007/08 0.04% pa
Switching fee Charged when you switch between Investment Options offered by the Fund. Nil
Additional service fee Amount
Binding nomination fee This is the fee charged if you decide to make a Binding Death Benefit Nomination. $10 per year
Contribution splitting fee $70
Family Law Act information request This is the fee charged when an eligible person (as defined by legislation) requests information under the Family Law Act. $50
Family Law Act payment flagging agreement This fee is charged when parties wish to enter into a payment flagging agreement to defer the splitting of a superannuation interest. Nil.
Family Law Act splitting account fee This is the fee charged to effect a Family Law splitting order or agreement (this fee is split across both parties requesting the split). $70
Insurance premiums This is the fee applied if insurance cover is provided. Please refer to your current insurance arrangements
Member fee This is a member account-keeping fee charged by the Fund. Nil
Fees when your money moves in or out of the Fund Amount
ASX 200 Shares Investment Option annual participation fee $39 per year
Contribution fee The fee on each amount contributed to your investment - either by you or your employer. Nil
Establishment fee The fee to open your investment. Nil
Share transaction costs Macquarie Equities Limited will charge participating members brokerage (excluding GST) per trade as follows:

Trade amount Brokerage
$0.00 - $4,167 = $12.50
$4,168 - $10,000 = 0.30%
$10,001 - $30,000 = 0.20%
$30,001 - $50,000 = 0.18%
$50,001 - $100,000 = 0.15%
$100,001 + = 0.10%

Termination fee The fee to close your investment. Nil (see Benefit payment fee below)
Withdrawal fee* The fee on each amount you take out of your investment. $35
 

* The withdrawal fee is not levied on death, TPD benefits or transfers to other AustralianSuper divisions. It is also not levied on withdrawals on hardship or compassionate grounds.

** The figures shown above are for the 2008/09 financial year. Investment management costs are calculated as at 31 December and 30 June each year and may change from year to year. Where you have more than one investment option, the fee deducted from gross investment earnings will be apportioned.

# In 2008/09 a provision of up to 0.06% will be deducted from the investment earnings to cover member benefit protection (MBP) costs and investment-related variances. Any difference between such actual costs and the provision will be distributed to members at the end of the financial year. In 2007/08 MBP costs were 0.04% and there were no investment-related variances.

For an account balance of $10,000 the fee would be 0.06% x $10,000 = $6.
 

Important note: Please refer to Tax and Insurance for details. Where the fund receives a tax deduction, the benefit of that deduction is passed on to members as part of fund earnings.

Member benefit protection

AustralianSuper has a member benefit protection policy, which complies with Government legislation. It aims to protect members with low-balance accounts (less than $1,000) from having their savings eaten away by fees. Low-balance account members are given a rebate so that administration charges cannot exceed the interest paid on their account, unless the fund’s investment returns are less than the fund's administration costs (in this situation the rebate is reduced by up to $10). The rebate is applied at 30 June and 31 December or when the member exits from the fund.

Fee adjustments

The trust deed allows the trustee to increase or alter any of the fees (other than Government taxes). We will inform you of any increases to the fees in writing at least 30 days before they are implemented. In the case of a fee reduction, where practicable, you will be notified before the change or (usually) no more than three months after the change.

An example of annual fees

Below gives an example of how the fees and costs in the Balanced Investment Option for this product can affect your superannuation investment over a one-year period. You should use this table to compare this product with other superannuation products.

Example – the Balanced Investment Option Balance of $50,000 with total contributions of $5,000 during the year.
Contribution fees Nil For every $5,000 you put in, you will be charged $0.
Plus: Management costs 0.90% plus $78 ($1.50 per week) And for every $50,000 you have in the fund you will be charged $450 each year, plus $78 in administration fees regardless of your balance.
Equals: Cost of fund   If you put in $5,000 during a year and your balance was $50,000, then for that year you will be charged fees of $528.*
*What it costs will depend on the investment option you choose and the fees you negotiate with your fund or financial adviser.+

+ Please note that this statement is required to be included by law; AustralianSuper does not pay any commissions to any third-parties or advisers.

Note: A $35 withdrawal fee may apply, charged for each withdrawal you make from the Fund. 0.90% comprises 0.60% investment costs, 0.24% investment performance fees and 0.06% for protection of small account balances. Investment related costs and member protection costs used in this example are based on costs for 2008/09. Actual costs will vary from year to year.

The annual participation fee of $39 for the ASX 200 Shares Investment Option and share transaction fee covers additional administration requirements for this investment option.

Investment management fees can change each year. Past fees should not be taken as an indication of future fees.