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AustralianSuper sued for death benefit claims failures
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has launched additional action against AustralianSuper in the Federal Court, this time over delayed processing of nearly 7,000 death benefit claims.
ASIC is alleging that between July 2019 and October 2024, AustralianSuper took up to four years from the date the claim form was returned to assess at least 6,897 death benefit claims. ASIC says that it was a failure to process death benefit claims efficiently, honestly and fairly.
It also alleges AustralianSuper failed to pay benefits as soon as practicable after the member’s death in at least 752 cases, in one instance taking up to 1,140 days to pay, despite having all the relevant information required to make the payment.
"At its heart, this matter is about protecting vulnerable Australians and their families,” ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court said.
"It is vital that death benefit claims are processed in a timely manner. Delays are likely to cause further pain and anxiety to people who are already suffering from grief, making what is already a difficult time even harder."
The new ASIC action comes less than a month after AustralianSuper was fined $27 million after the Federal Court found it failed to merge multiple member accounts in breach of its fundamental duties and obligations to members.
In that case, the court found that over the nearly ten years to March 2023, approximately 90,700 AustralianSuper members had multiple accounts and incurred approximately $69 million in losses through multiple administration fees, insurance premiums and lost investment earnings as a failure of those funds not being merged.
"Improving services to superannuation fund members is a strategic priority for ASIC and we will continue to take strong action where we consider that members are not getting the service they deserve from their superannuation trustees," Court said.
