What changed on 1 January 2025?
The information below is only a summary of some of the changes that may impact you from 1 January 2025. Please refer to our November 2024 Significant Event Notice for full details of all the changes and to understand how these changes may affect you.
We’ve lowered the administration fee
Brighter Super works hard to keep fees and costs down. We are a not-for-profit industry fund and only charge our members what it costs to run the fund.
To provide members with greater value we have reduced:
- the percentage-based administration fee from 0.18% to 0.14% per year2
- the percentage-based administration fee cap from $900 to $650 per financial year.
Additionally, the costs paid from reserves have reduced from 0.03% to 0.01%. This reflects the costs paid from reserves in the 2024 financial year. It is not an additional cost to you; it is deducted from the Fund’s General Reserves and not from your account balance.
We’ve brought in a small account keeping fee
We have introduced an account keeping fee of $0.50 per account3, per week to cover the base costs of managing an account. This fee is deducted directly from your account each month (pro-rated if you close your account during the month) and is not based on the account balance.
The new fee structure will enable us to continue to provide a high standard of service and shares the cost of providing administration services and products across all superannuation and pension accounts.
We’re introducing partner linking
From early 2025, Brighter Super members will be able to link their partner’s eligible accounts to benefit from the reduced administration fee cap of $650. Partner linking allows the percentage-based administration fees to be calculated on the combined account balance, potentially reducing the percentage-based administration fees charged to both members.
We’ve changed some investment fees and costs and transaction costs
Investment fees and costs and transaction costs have risen for five investment options due to changes to the underlying investments. The investment fees and costs and transaction costs have increased by 0.01% for Diversified Fixed Interest, Growth and International Shares and by 0.02% for MySuper and Conservative Balanced options.
The Australian Shares option has decreased by 0.01% and all other options remain unchanged.
We’ve reduced the insurance administration fee for former Optimiser members
The Fund receives a tax deduction of 15% on insurance premiums paid by members. Previously, the Fund retained this tax refund on former Optimiser accounts as an insurance administration fee to cover the costs incurred in providing insurance to members.
From 1 January 2025, the 15% insurance administration fee reduced to 8% of the insurance premiums paid, to align with how the tax deduction is applied to other Brighter Super accounts. The insurance administration fee is not deducted from your account, however going forward a tax refund of 7% of the insurance premiums will be credited to your account.
If applicable, this refund will be shown on your Annual Statement.
We’ve improved the way death benefits are paid
We understand the loss of a loved one is a difficult time for members’ families, so we have amended our Trust Deed to provide clearer guidance and speed up decision making where we do not hold a valid beneficiary nomination. This will help to expedite claims decisions and minimise delays.
Where a member’s death occurs on or after 1 January 2025 and we do not have a valid beneficiary nomination, a new prescribed hierarchy will be used to determine the recipient of the death benefit, as follows:
- To a qualifying spouse (or one or more qualifying spouses, where more than one person meets the relevant definition of qualifying spouse).
- If there is no qualifying spouse, then one or more qualifying children (this includes children under 18, as well as children over 18 with a financial dependency on the member, or in an interdependency relationship with the member, or with a prescribed disability).
- If there are no qualifying children, then the legal personal representative (executor of the member’s Will or person who has letters of administration of the member’s estate).
- If no legal personal representative is identified, or the estate is insolvent, then to other dependants.
Additional changes have been introduced for the Trustee to exercise discretion on the payment of death benefits in some circumstances where there are indications of spousal abuse.
You can easily add or change your binding non-lapsing nomination via Member Online at any time. It takes less than 10 minutes and there’s no need for anyone to witness your nomination.
