Our commitment to members approaching retirement or enjoying retirement is at the heart of our newly refined Retirement Income Strategy. This strategy is designed to empower members to:
- maximise their retirement income
- mitigate potential risks that could affect their retirement income, and
- enjoy flexible, easy access to their funds during retirement.
Brighter Super offers a range of products and services to help our members retire with confidence. One of the standout initiatives is the enhancement of our Retirement Reward designed for members opening a Brighter Super Pension.
The Retirement Reward is a potential bonus to members who have savings invested in growth assets in either a Brighter Super Accumulation or Transition to Retirement (TTR) Pension account who open a Brighter Super Pension account.
This year we made the decision to increase the reward from 0.5% to 0.8% of the growth assets. This means members transferring to a Pension could be eligible to receive a one-off, tax-free reward of up to $15,2001.
I’m pleased to report that 863 members received a Retirement Reward for the 2023/24 financial year, with over $1.9 million paid out to these members.
You can find out more about the Retirement Reward in our Brighter approach to retirement video featuring retirement advocate, David Koch, and Brighter Super’s Head of Retirement, Jen McSpadden.
Strong returns for 2023/24
Brighter Super was among the top 10 funds with the best returns in the 2023-24 financial year, according to SuperRatings data, with our popular Growth and Balanced accumulation and pension investment options achieving double-digit returns.
Brighter Super’s Growth accumulation option returned 11.91% for the year to 30 June 2024, while the Balanced accumulation option returned 10.57%, the highest returns in their class for an industry super fund based in Queensland2.
Brighter Super’s Growth option also achieved the highest returns in its class nationally over five years (9.08%) and seven years (9.75%), while the Balanced option was first in its class in terms of returns over seven years (8.50%) and second over five years (7.71%), according to the Super Ratings’ SR50 Indices at 30 June 20241.
Brighter Super’s pension options also performed strongly in the year to 30 June 2024, with the Growth option returning 13.44%, the Balanced option returning 11.92%, and the Conservative Balanced option returning 9.79%.
At the same time, Brighter Super continues to be among the top three industry funds with the lowest MySuper option fees in Australia, according to SuperRatings data3.
These strong returns, along with our focus on delivering low fees, shows members are reaping the benefits of the merger between LGIAsuper and Energy Super and the acquisition of Suncorp Super. By selecting the best possible services and products from our foundation funds, we’ve been able to diversify our investments and access better opportunities for the benefit of members.
Learn more about our investment performance in our review of 2023/24 video featuring retirement advocate David Koch and Brighter Super’s Chief Investment Officer, Mark Rider.
Member education and engagement
I’ve spent quite a bit of time ‘on the road’ over the past few months, hosting our flagship Planning your Brighter Retirement seminars and Fund and Investment Updates for members across Queensland.
I was joined by Brighter Super CIO, Mark Rider, David ‘Kochie’ Koch and the Brighter Super team as we travelled between Townsville, Cairns, Brisbane, Toowoomba, Mackay and the Sunshine Coast, presenting to well over 1,000 members at the various events.
It was wonderful to spend quality time with members and guests, and I know those who attended got a real buzz when Kochie discussed the ‘seven habits’ of retirement. If you haven’t had a chance to see David in action, you can read his latest newsletter article on life considerations in retirement.
And while our seminar program has ended for 2024, there’s still time to register for an upcoming webinar.
Industry recognition
In August I was honoured to be named the 2024 Fund Executive Association Limited (FEAL) Fund Executive of the Year. The annual award, now in its 23rd year, honours a superannuation fund executive who has made an outstanding contribution to their fund and the super industry.
This award is a tremendous endorsement of our strategy and the tireless work of our team, who have delivered on our program of transformation and growth to realise the benefits of our mergers for members.
So, a big thank you to my team for your unwavering support, innovative thinking, member focus and relentless pursuit of excellence, which have been the driving forces behind our success.
Save the date: Annual Members' Meeting
I look forward to presenting a review of the last financial year and the future direction of the fund at the 2023/24 Annual Members’ Meeting. My team and I always appreciate spending this time with our members, sharing ideas and listening to feedback.
Invitations will be sent out in early October with further details of the AMM, which will be held at 12.00 pm (AEST) on Thursday, 7 November 2024 at Brisbane City Hall.
You can register to attend in-person at Brisbane City Hall or join us online.
- This is based on Brighter Super's FY2023/24 and FY2024/25 Retirement Reward Rate of 0.8% of growth assets, calculated on the 1 July 2024 transfer balance cap of $1.9 million. A Retirement Reward is not payable on any amount higher than transfer balance cap. The government changes the transfer balance cap limit from time to time. Eligibility criteria apply.
- All returns are based on daily unit prices available to members. They are net of investment fees and taxes, and gross of the administration fee charged by the Fund. Investment returns are not guaranteed. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
- Based on Brighter Super analysis of SuperRatings data, comparing the cost-of-product and cost-to-member, on a balance of $50,000. Comparison considers SuperRatings rated options only. Data is accurate as of 1 July 2024 and is subject to change. For more information on the SuperRatings research methodology visit www.superratings.com.au. Ratings are only one factor to be taken into account when deciding whether to invest.
Brighter Super Trustee (ABN 94 085 088 484 AFS Licence No. 230511) ("Trustee") as trustee for Brighter Super (ABN 23 053 121 564) ("Fund"). Brighter Super may refer to the Trustee or the Fund as the context may be. Brighter Super products are issued by the Trustee on behalf of the Fund. The information contained is up to date at the time of publishing. Some of the information may change following its release. Any questions can be referred to Brighter Super by calling 1800 444 396, or by emailing info@brightersuper.com.au.
This article may contain general advice, which has been prepared without taking into account your individual objectives, financial situation or needs. As such, you should consider the appropriateness of the advice to your objectives, financial situation and needs before acting on the advice. You should also obtain and consider the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Financial Services Guide (FSG) before making any decision to acquire any product or contribute additional amounts to your Brighter Super account. A Target Market Determination (TMD) is a document that outlines the target market a product has been designed for. Find the PDSs, FSG and TMDs at www.brightersuper.com.au/pds-and-guides.
