VIRGINIA TRIOLI:
Stephen Jones is with you. Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services. Minister, thank you for joining us today.
STEPHEN JONES:
Good to be with you again, Virginia.
TRIOLI:
And we've been talking all this week about the unacceptably long period of time that some people have to wait to get hold of the superannuation of their dead partner or spouse. Do you know why it's taking so many super funds so long to hand it on?
JONES:
Look, in some instances there may be problems around the authorisations that are in place. In some instances, it might be difficult in verifying eligibility. But in all of those instances, it shouldn't be taking as long as it is. I want to get to the bottom of it. And in this, in a number of other areas, I've sent a signal, pretty strong signal to the industry that they've got to lift their service game.
TRIOLI:
In the cases of ‑ the couple of cases that we started our conversation with this week, Minister, and then of course, we were inundated with phone calls and other personal experiences, all the same. They weren't complicated and it wasn't a question of who was nominated. They were actually ‑ it was acknowledged by Cbus themselves. They were very simple, straightforward matters. It was a husband. There was no one else who was a beneficiary. The wife was the nominated beneficiary. And yet 15 months later, and until they threatened to talk to the radio, did the money come through?
JONES:
Clearly unacceptable. I mean, these people have already gone through a devastating life experience, losing a husband, a wife, a partner. And to have that sort of delay is not acceptable. So, I've put the industry on notice. I want to see a significant uplift in the service standards, not just in this area, I've got to say, but right across the board, getting simple inquiries answered, having phone calls returned. There's a whole heap of areas, but this is obviously an acute one, Virginia. And I agree with you and your listeners, just not acceptable.
TRIOLI:
So, do you ‑ have you got any line of sight there, Minister, into how these very large super funds are running their business? Are they understaffed? Have they cut back on their frontline workers who take the calls and respond to queries?
JONES:
All of them will have some different set of circumstances, but I think at the core, what we can say is that for the last 30 years, the focus of these funds has been around growing people's wealth, their retirement savings and all their effort, all their energy has been on that. And they've had fairly lean front‑of‑house operations, the customer‑facing side of things. So, they've done a pretty good job, I've got to say, in improving and increasing people's retirement savings, but not so good at the customer service side of things. And they've got to shift, and they've got to shift quickly because Superannuation is no longer a cottage industry. People ‑ service standards will be the same as they expect of any other financial institution that they deal with.
TRIOLI:
Well, they should possibly, as an argument, Minister, isn't there that there's even a heavier requirement on them to be purer than the driven snow because they hold the largest amount of money, funds under investment, of any other group or grouping or classification in the country?
JONES:
Yeah, I agree. For most Australians, their superannuation will be their largest or their second largest investment. For anyone who owns a home, it'll probably be their second largest investment, their superannuation. More Australians are coming to retirement. About 5 million Australians are now either at or approaching retirement. Simple. They need a better service standard. And I've sent a signal to the industry that they've got to lift their game. If they don't, we'll look at what other sorts of mandatory standards can be put into place.
TRIOLI:
How long are you going to wait until you think you have to act on those mandatory standards? What will you do and when do you think you'll do it?
JONES:
Well, I'll have a look at what can and should be done. Always better, I've got to say, if these things are done voluntarily, than having the heavy‑handed government come in and set rules and regulations. But I think for the reasons you've set out and the case studies you've examined, I think there may be a case for putting in place some mandatory service standards and requirements in addition to what's already there. So, I'll be talking to the regulators about what the best means possible of doing that. Obviously, we'll consult with industry before we put anything in place, but the core expectation that fund members should have, whether it's their insurance claims met or whether it's their inquiries about their account balances and how to manage those things, they should be dealt with and they should be being done in a better and quicker way than they are at the moment.
TRIOLI:
So, they should know, the superannuation industry should know that they're on notice today that you're coming for them with regulation if they don't get their house in order.
JONES:
100 per cent.
TRIOLI:
Good to talk to you this morning, Minister. Thanks so much.
JONES:
Great to be with you.
TRIOLI:
Stephen Jones, MP, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Finance.