Super News
Pension Minimum Drawdown Relief Extended
The Government's temporary 50% reduction in the minimum annual income payment for account-based super pensions in 2009/2010 has been extended to the 2010/2011 financial year.
This applies to Division 9 and Division 14 members.
The minimum annual income payment is calculated as a percentage of the pension account balance as at 1 July 2010. The percentages for 2010/2011 are:
Age on 1 July 2010 |
Minimum annual income payment (%) |
|---|---|
Under 65 |
2 |
65-74 |
2.5 |
75-79 |
3 |
80-84 |
3.5 |
85-89 |
4.5 |
90-94 |
5.5 |
95 and over |
7 |
Division 9 and Division 14 Annual Statements will be mailed in August 2010, along with income payment details for the 2010/2011 financial year.
An Income Change Request Form can be completed to provide us with new pension income payment instructions. This form will be included in the August mail-out.
Investment Update June 2010
Volatile share markets continue to be an ongoing concern for financial markets, investors and governments around the world.
This edition of Super News aims to help you gain a general understanding of why investment markets are volatile and the impact this is having on the returns across the Plan's investment options.
Group E Member Director Election Results - 1 June 2010
An election was held recently for the Group E Member Director of Qantas Superannuation Limited. Four candidates nominated for the position.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, the independent returning officer, have counted the votes and advised that the successful candidate is Greg Manning.
Greg is the Treasurer, Capital Markets, in Group Finance, located in Sydney.
The Trustee congratulates Greg on his election.
The term for Member Directors is four years.
The Henry Tax Review - key proposals that impact super - 04 May 2010
In May 2008, the Rudd Government appointed a panel chaired by Ken Henry, the Secretary to the Treasury, to undertake a review of Australia's current tax system and to make recommendations on what an efficient and fair future tax system could look like.
The Government released the report of the Review into Australia's Future Tax System and the Treasurer, Wayne Swan provided the Government's response to this review on Sunday 2 May 2010.
The proposals outlined in the Government's response include a number of positive changes to superannuation, designed to support and boost your retirement savings.
It is important to note that these are only proposals at this stage. To be effective, they will need to be passed as legislation through the Federal Parliament.
The timing of when this legislation will be passed is currently not known.
What are the key proposals that impact super?
- Compulsory Super Guarantee Contributions to rise
- Contribution caps to change for people aged 50 and over
- An extra benefit if you earn less than $37,000 per year
- Superannuation Guarantee Contributions to be paid to age 75
For more detail on these proposals, read our latest edition of Super News
You can also access more information from the following links:
The Australian Government, Future Tax website
Links to other sites are provided for your information and convenience only. The Trustee of the Qantas Superannuation Plan is not responsible for the accuracy or content of these sites, nor does the Trustee endorse these sites or any associated products or services. The views that may be expressed do not reflect the official views of the Trustee of the Qantas Superannuation Plan.
Group D Election Results - 27 October 2009
An election was held for the Group D Member Director of Qantas Superannuation Limited and four candidates nominated for the position. Pricewaterhouse Coopers, the independent Returning Officer, have advised that the candidate with the most votes was Kash Gillies.
The Trustee congratulates Mr. Gillies on his re-election.
Mr. Gillies' four year term commenced on 22 October 2009.
Distribution of the Investment Fluctuation Reserve (IFR) - 16/10/2009
The Trustee maintains an IFR across the entire Plan. The IFR captures any deviations between the actual investment returns of the Plan and the declared Credited Interest Rates (CIRs) credited or debited to member's Accumulation benefits and the assets supporting the Defined Benefit liabilities.
The Trustee declares CIRs on a monthly basis. When determining CIRs the Trustee aims, as far as practical, to credit the actual investment return achieved by the Plan. Since CIRs are expected to be very close to the actual returns each month, any deviations should be small.
Over the year to 30 June 2009, an IFR emerged due mainly to deviations of the actual asset allocations from the strategic asset allocations in the Conservative, Balanced, Growth and Aggressive investment options.
At the Trustee's Board meeting held on 15 October 2009, the Trustee resolved that the IFR should be fairly distributed between Accumulation and Defined Benefit members. Accordingly, the CIR for October 2009 will be increased by the following amounts to reflect this IFR distribution:
Investment Options |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cash |
Conservative |
Balanced |
Growth |
Aggressive |
|
| Non Income Stream Members | 0.00% |
0.04% |
0.10% |
0.14% |
0.18% |
| Income Stream Members | 0.00% |
0.05% |
0.11% |
0.17% |
0.21% |
The highest distribution is made to the Aggressive investment option as it has the highest proportion of return seeking assets which were impacted the most by the deviation from its strategic asset allocation.
The Interim CIR for October 2009 will also be adjusted so that members who leave the Plan on or after 16 October 2009 but before the October CIR is known and applied will also share in this distribution.
Looking forward, the Trustee will continue to monitor the IFR on a regular basis, and may fairly distribute any amounts that arise, whether positive or negative.
New Effective Date (1 December 2009) for Company Policy Changes on Superannuation - 29 September 2009
The Company recently announced changes to Superannuation Policy. The changes include a new Superannuation Choice of Fund Policy and the ability for members of Divisions 1, 2 and 3 to transfer to Division 6 on request. The changes to the Company policy will now take effect from 1 December 2009.
Prior to 1 December 2009, transitional arrangements are in place for members who wish to transfer to Division 6. During the transitional period, the Company contribution rate will continue as the current Company contribution rate used for Choice of Fund purposes.
Where a request to transfer to Division 6 is received on or after 1 December 2009, the Company contribution rate will be limited to 9% or 10% (depending on your EBA), calculated on your Superannuation Salary or Ordinary Time Earnings (OTE) Salary (which ever is the greater) and capped at the maximum superannuation contribution base which is $40,170 per quarter in the 2009/2010 year.
Information regarding the Company's Superannuation Policy changes is available from Qantas PeopleConnect on 1300 303 411. Information on Division 6 is available from the Product Disclosure Statement or by calling 1300 654 384.
Review of Investment Strategy and MIC Options - 29 September 2009
The Trustee has completed a full review of the investments of the Plan which has confirmed that:
- The five MIC Options available for members remain appropriate;
- The Growth Option remains the default option;
- The Growth Option remains appropriate for the assets backing the defined benefit liabilities, and for members who are not eligible for MIC;
- Members eligible for MIC may still switch their MIC Option monthly, at no charge; and
- There will be no change to the calculation of Credited Interest Rates or Interim Credited Interest Rates.
Each MIC Option comprises return seeking assets and risk controlling assets in different proportions so as to provide alternative investment options with different risk and return expectations. The investment review has updated the objectives and characteristics of each MIC Option, but these are largely unchanged.
Some minor changes have been made to simplify the asset sectors within the return seeking and the risk controlling categories. These categories now include:
|
Return Seeking Assets
|
Risk Controlling Assets
|
|---|---|
|
Australian Equities
|
Cash
|
|
International Equities
|
Fixed Interest
|
|
Return Seeking Alternatives (including infrastructure, private equity, global macro
hedge funds, listed property, emerging market debt and high yield debt).
|
Risk Diversifying Alternatives (including diversified hedge funds and lower risk
unlisted property).
|
Details of each MIC Option are available from the Investment Option section of the website, the Product Disclosure Statement for your Division. Full details of the investment objectives and strategies are contained in the new Plan Investment Summary. A Super News brochure on the Review of Investment Strategy has also been sent to all members of the Plan.
Investment performance published by the regulator - September 2009
APRA, the regulator of major superannuation funds in Australia, has published investment performance data for Australia's 200 largest superannuation funds (by asset size) for the five-year period from 2004 to 2008. This data was sourced from annual audited returns submitted by the funds' trustee which APRA has presented as annualised three-year and five-year fund-level rates of investment return.
While there has been vigorous debate about the methodologies used by APRA for this performance analysis we thought it worthwhile to highlight the key points released by APRA on the Qantas Superannuation Plan, as follows:
- The Plan is the 24th largest superannuation fund in Australia and the 3rd largest corporate superannuation fund (behind Telstra and Commonwealth Bank), based on Plan assets at 30 June 2008 ($5,873.5 million); and
- The Plan's five-year Rate of Return of 10.2% per annum ranked as the 19th best performing fund out of the 200 largest funds (in the top 10%). The three-year Rate of Return of 7.8% per annum ranked the Plan 30th out of 200 funds (in the top 20%).
We remind members that the Trustee is focussed on achieving it's objectives for each investment option over the specified time period. For example, the return objective for the default option (the Growth Option) is to exceed CPI by at least 4.0% per annum over rolling five-year periods while the risk objective is to limit the likelihood of a negative annual return to four years in 20.
Despite the market turmoil over the last 18 months, the risk objectives are being met and the return objectives are just under target.
Footnote: The information provided has been sourced from the Superannuation Fund Level Rates of Return (issued 20 August 2009 by APRA)
Disclaimer
While APRA endeavours to ensure the quality of this publication, APRA does not accept
any responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or currency of the material included
in this publication, and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising out of
any use of, or reliance on, this publication. The information in the Superannuation
Fund-Level Rates of Return and Superannuation Fund-Level Profiles and Financial
Performance publications is not financial product advice.
Further Information
This information provided in the Super News brochure is not financial advice or an offer by the Company or Qantas Superannuation Limited (the Trustee) for you to transfer to Division 6.
If you require any further information you can contact the Plan by:
- calling 1300 654 384; or
- sending an email to info@qantassuper.com.au
Check in tips - how to access the Member's Area
If you have been having problems trying to check in to the member's area of the website, here are some tips for you:
- Open a new internet browser window if you have recently requested a new PIN
- After three failed attempts, your access will be locked. You will then need to contact the Plan to organise the unlocking of your access.
- If you do not know your PIN, you can only request a new PIN from the website. This request is computer generated and cannot be accessed by the Plan.
- Your PIN can only be a 4-digit number.
Please note that a PIN is not required to access the majority of the website such as the Documents, Super Facts, Investments and Policies sections.
