Member Update, December 2024
As we approach the year's end, we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude for your continued support and trust in Brighter Super to manage your retirement savings.
We’re thrilled to close out the year by announcing another fee reduction for our members from 1 January 2025.
We are excited to share this alongside some recent service enhancements, reflecting our ongoing commitment to providing even greater value to you.
On behalf of everyone at Brighter Super, we wish you and your family a safe and joyful holiday season and a healthy, happy, and bright 2025.
2025 just got even brighter
As part of our ongoing commitment to delivering exceptional value, we are reducing administration fees for most members from 1 January 2025.
It will be the third year in a row we’ve lowered admin fees. Since the completion of the mergers in 2022, Brighter Super has reduced administration fees by a total of 40%¹.
The fee changes include:
- Reducing the percentage-based administration fee from 0.18% to 0.14% of your account balance, which means more of your contributions will go directly into investing for your retirement.
- Reducing the annual cap on the percentage-based administration fees from $900 to $650. This move reflects Brighter Super’s dedication to keeping fees as low as possible.
- Reducing costs paid from reserves from 0.03% to 0.01%. This fee is not charged directly to your account, it is deducted from the fund's reserves.
- Introducing a partner-linking feature that allows members to link their partner’s Brighter Super account, potentially reducing overall administration fees through combined balances.
To support these changes, we are bringing in a small account keeping fee of $0.50 per week². As your balance grows, the account keeping fee will become a smaller proportion of your total assets.
Brighter Super is a 100% member owned, not-for-profit fund, so we only charge fees that we need to run the fund and provide services to members. These latest fee reductions are part of Brighter Super's vision of being ‘brighter together’, ensuring all members benefit from our recent mergers while maximising their retirement savings potential.
Find out more about these fee reductions
Brighter Super recognised for member education
We are proud to announce that Brighter Super won the SuperRatings Member Education Award 2025. This recognition highlights the quality and accessibility of our educational offerings, which empower members to make informed financial decisions about their superannuation.
Our education services include seminars across Queensland, interactive webinars, education articles and videos, online tools and tutorials, and a team of over 40 super specialists dedicated to helping members grow their super and retire with confidence.
In addition to winning the SuperRatings Member Education Award 2025, our other recent accolades include:
- Finalists for two other SuperRatings awards: Adviser Servicing and Retirement Offering of the Year.
- SuperRatings’ Platinum rating (highest possible) for our Accumulation and Pension products for the 16th consecutive year.
- SuperRatings’ Platinum rating for our MySuper investment option for the 11th consecutive year.
- Chant West 5-Apples Rating for our Accumulation and Pension products in 2024.
- Canstar’s Outstanding Value Account Based Pension Award 2024.
- Best Growth Pension Award 2025 from Money magazine.
Find out more about our awards
Reflecting on a successful Annual Members’ Meeting
It was wonderful to see so many members participating in our Annual Members’ Meeting on 7 November 2024, both at Brisbane City Hall and online via our livestream.
Thank you to everyone for taking the time to participate. We always appreciate spending time with our members, sharing an update on the fund and markets, and listening to feedback.
Chair John Smith, CEO Kate Farrar and Chief Investment Officer Mark Rider presented our performance and achievements and answered questions from members. This included our strong and competitive investment returns for the year, along with the strides we've made since the mergers to enhance our products and services, elevate member experiences and reduce fees.
If you were unable to attend the meeting, a video recording is available on our website. To watch the video, and access a full set of reporting documents, including our Annual Report and Year in Focus 2023/24, visit 2024 Annual Members' Meeting.
Brighter Super aims to restore retirement confidence
Retirement preparedness among Australians has hit its lowest point in a decade, according to the Brighter Super and Investment Trends 2024 Retirement Income Report.
The gap between pre-retirees' expected retirement income and perceived needs over the past decade has widened to 31%. Inflation has emerged as the primary concern for pre-retirees, while health issues top the list for current retirees.
Global industry research firm Investment Trends conducted the report on behalf of Brighter Super, based on an online survey of 5,318 Australian adults aged over 40. The research underscores the critical role of superannuation in securing financial futures and highlights the positive impact of financial advice on retirement outcomes.
Brighter Super is here to help our members retire with confidence. Our team of super specialists and financial advisers are assisting members to create their plans for growing super and achieving goals.
Using the insights from the report, we are also making significant investments in our products, services and in member education, including webinars and in-person events around Queensland, many of which involve our new retirement advocate David ‘Kochie’ Koch.
Find out more:
Brighter Super and Investment Trends 2024 Retirement Income Report
Helping you to plan for a worry-free retirement
Introducing our new retirement calculator
Brighter Super has launched the What Age Can I Retire Calculator to take the guesswork out of your retirement planning.
By entering details such as your age, income, current super balance, and additional savings, you’ll receive a personalised estimate of your potential retirement age and expected annual income.
In just 10 minutes, you can gain insights into:
- Your projected retirement age
- Expected retirement income
- Longevity of your retirement funds
The calculator lets you adjust variables and see how small changes today can significantly impact your future. It may help you in creating a more clear, confident path to your ideal retirement.
Try our new What Age Can I Retire Calculator today.
This is the latest in our range of online calculators, which includes a Retirement Income Calculator, available at brightersuper.com.au/resources.
Brighter Super Board of Directors reappointments and retirements
We are pleased to announce recent changes to our Board of Directors that ensure strong leadership for our members.
At its August 2024 meeting, the Brighter Super Trustee Board approved the reappointment of five directors whose terms were set to expire at the end of 2024: Ray Burton, Greg Hallam, John Smith, Jennifer Thomas and Neisha Traill.
Mark Jamieson, Employer Representative Director, is due to retire on 31 December 2024. A process is underway in consultation with the Local Government Association of Queensland Ltd (LGAQ) to identify a suitable replacement director and until that has occurred, Mark has agreed to remain on Brighter Super's Board. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Mark for his dedicated service as a nominated representative of the LGAQ and his unwavering commitment to our members' best interests.
Find out more about Brighter Super’s Board of Directors.
We’re here to help
If you would like to discuss anything about your super, please contact us on 1800 444 396.
To view or manage your account online, log in or register for access on our website, brightersuper.com.au.
- The fee reductions represent the overall reduction in administration fees charged across the membership of the Fund. This includes actual reductions over the past three years and the forecasted impact of fee changes from 1 January 2025. Individuals may see different levels of fee changes, and in some instances, fee increases, dependent on account balance, products, and investment options.
- The Account keeping fee will not be charged for existing and new members who have transferred a KiwiSaver scheme to Brighter Super and a new account has been opened. KiwiSaver accounts will be charged the percentage-based administration fee from 1 January 2025.
Brighter Super Trustee (ABN 94 085 088 484, AFS Licence No. 230511) as trustee for Brighter Super (ABN 23 053 121 564). 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) 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 and TMDs at brightersuper.com.au/pds-and-guides.
You should refer to respective research houses (and their disclaimers) to obtain further information about the meaning of the rating and the rating scale. Ratings are only one factor to be taken into account when deciding whether to invest. Ratings are subject to change without notice and may not be regularly updated. Ratings are current as at date of publication. Some previous ratings were awarded to the Fund under the LGIAsuper brand. Brighter Super pays a fee to some research houses for rating our funds. Ratings are not a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold any product.
Issued by SuperRatings Pty Ltd (SuperRatings) ABN: 95 100 192 283 a Corporate Authorised Representative (CAR No.1309956) of Lonsec Research Pty Ltd ABN: 11 151 658 561, AFSL No. 421445 (Lonsec Research). Rating is not a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold any product and subject to change without notice. SuperRatings may receive a fee for the use of its ratings and awards. Visit SuperRatings.com.au for ratings information.
The Zenith CW Pty Ltd ABN 20 639 121 403 AFSL 226872/AFS Rep No. 1280401 Chant West rating (assigned February/2024) is limited to General Advice only and has been prepared without considering your objectives or financial situation, including target markets where applicable. The rating is not a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold any product and is subject to change at any time without notice. You should seek independent advice and consider the PDS or offer document before making any investment decisions. Ratings have been assigned based on third party data. Liability is not accepted, whether direct or indirect, from use of the rating. Past performance is not an indication of future performance. Refer to chantwest.com.au for full ratings information and their FSG.
