Qantas Super will be merging with Australian Retirement Trust on 29 March 2025. Learn more.

Members in a defined benefit division may currently have a voluntary accumulation account with a negative balance.

This occurs when a member has Voluntary Cover, and premiums for this insurance cover are deducted from their account. As these premiums can’t be deducted from a defined benefit amount, they are deducted from an existing voluntary accumulation account, or a voluntary accumulation account created for this purpose. If voluntary contributions are not made to this account as premiums are deducted, the balance may become negative.

Effective from the date that Qantas Super merges with Australian Retirement Trust (ART), which is expected to be in the first half of 2025, the overall balance of your voluntary accumulation accounts will not be able to become negative. This includes the total (if any) of your Member Voluntary Account, Salary Sacrifice Account and your Rollover Account.

To deal with this, we are making a few changes to this process:

1. Existing voluntary accumulation accounts with a negative balance will be treated the same way as an offset account

Any voluntary accumulation accounts with a negative balance identified on the date that Qantas Super merges with ART will be treated in line with how Qantas Super treats offset accounts.
An offset account is designed to track any early withdrawals or advances given on your defined benefit, such as the premiums paid to the insurer for Voluntary Cover on your behalf. The balance of an offset account is negative and will be subtracted from your total benefit, for example at retirement or when you leave your division. This is to ensure that the funds you accessed early aren’t paid to you again and your total benefit is calculated fairly.

An offset account increases or decreases in line with investment returns applied to your account. As a result, the balance could grow over time to be more than the initial payment you withdrew. We do this because the advance given on your defined benefit has come from the assets of the Qantas Superannuation Plan, and it would have otherwise received a return had it not been paid out to you early.

From the date Qantas Super merges with ART, with the exception of Family Law accounts, all new offset accounts will accrue investment returns by reference to the same rate that applies to Qantas Super’s defined benefit assets (the DB rate). Family Law accounts are indexed in line with AWOTE plus 2.5% p.a. You can view the returns that apply to Qantas Super’s defined benefit assets by downloading our weekly credited interest rates (CIRs) here.

2. You will need to make voluntary contributions to cover the cost of premiums for Voluntary Cover

After the transfer to ART, if you have Voluntary Cover, you will need to make voluntary contributions to your account to cover the cost of the insurance premiums for this cover.

If you do not have a sufficient balance in your voluntary accumulation accounts to cover the cost of the insurance premiums, after a period of failing to pay the premiums (currently four months), your cover in ART will cease. ART will contact you prior to your cover ceasing to allow you to pay the insurance premiums and maintain your cover.

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If you have any questions about accessing your super, you can book a one-on-one appointment with a Super Adviser on our website.