|
 |
 |
| September 2007 | Enquiries/Feedback
|
|
“I found this seminar extremely helpful personally and for the first time I now feel as though I can help myself to set realistic targets” (Aon seminar feedback from a member of the Electrolux Home Products Superannuation Plan). A workplace super seminar can generate very positive responses from employees – it helps them to understand and value their super, and to recognise it as an important part of the benefits you provide. Recognition is good, but it’s not the only upside for you as the employer. According to the government’s Understanding money website “…providing financial literacy education to your employees is a rock solid way of ensuring that your employees spend their hours focussing on their job and not on their finances.” A seminar program for your workplace will:
If you would like to arrange or find out more about seminars that Aon can organise for your workplace, please contact your account manager. We’re busy preparing and issuing annual benefit statements, and most members should receive their statement by the middle of October. The latest Member directions newsletter invites members to ‘catch up with their super account’ by reading their statement and checking for anything they may need to update. And for members who need a helping hand, our online guide explains the different parts of the statement and how their super has progressed over the year. Return to sender – address unknown In an ideal world, we’d have every member’s current home address on file, and every member would let us know every time they move. We wish! We’re usually well down a member’s list of ‘people to tell’ if they move (if we’re on it at all). While it’s a bit of a pain for us, returned mail is a far more important issue for the members who don’t receive updates on their super. Also, if we get two pieces of returned mail for a member, we can consider them as ‘lost’ and may transfer their benefit to an eligible rollover fund. We’d like to ask your help. Putting this poster on your workplace noticeboards will go a long way towards getting our records up to date and keeping your employees up to date with their super. Thanks! PS: if an employee tells you they’re moving, you can let us know by completing a Change of member details advice or, if you’re on CMS (see below), you can do it online. Thanks again. Save valuable time and business resources Aon’s Complete Management System (CMS) is an online service that will help you streamline your super activities, so you can focus your valuable time and resources more on your business and less on super. Once you’re registered for CMS, you can update membership records online and obtain reports at any time. CMS will also enable you to securely and conveniently pay and allocate super contributions to multiple funds online. Interested? Drop us an email, contact your account manager or call us on 1300 880 588. Minimum level insurance cover – employer FAQs The Aon Master Trust has introduced a minimum level ($200,000) of default insurance cover for death and total and permanent disablement (TPD) for eligible members insured under the standard AIG policy. We’ve had a few questions about it from employers so here are the answers to the more frequent ones (see also the FAQs factsheet): Does the minimum level of cover apply to members who are part-time employees? Before 1 July 2007, members working less than 15 hours a week had death-only cover but no cover for total and permanent disablement. From 1 July 2007, part-timers are automatically covered for TPD as well as for death. If they become disabled and make a claim, the insurer will assess their claim against the TPD definition of ‘Activities of daily living’. Do I need to tell you if a member changes their working hours? No. Any claims for a total and permanent disablement benefit will be assessed against the TPD definition that applies at the time of the claim. What do I tell members who don’t want the minimum cover? Members can opt out of the minimum cover. Special provisions apply for members whose cover was topped up on 1 July 2007 to meet the new minimum level:
Ongoing, members can opt-out of the minimum cover at any time and their cover will revert to their employer plan formula. See the factsheet: A better fit – improved insurance in Corporate Super. And if they want more than the minimum cover? Members can apply for additional insurance cover at any time and any increase in cover will be subject to the insurer’s approval. The relevant forms are Increase insurance up to $500,000 or, for higher cover, the Personal statement and declaration of health. Income protection: new long-term options We’ve also improved the terms of income protection
in the Aon Master Trust, including the option to take out long-term cover
with a maximum benefit period of up to five years or up to age 65. Short-term
cover (maximum benefit period of up to two years) continues to be available.
See the factsheet: Tax changes favour insurance within super Recent tax rule changes mean that death and TPD benefits paid from super are taxed more favourably than those paid outside of super. Briefly, the payment of proceeds from employer-sponsored group insurance schemes (non-super) now fall within the new Employment Termination Payments (ETP) system. You may have employees who are not currently members of the Aon Master Trust. If you would like to offer any of these employees an insurance-only account within super (and so give them access to the favourable tax treatment), you can do so through the Aon Master Trust provided you pay the insurance premiums and fees. The tax treatment of death and TPD benefits from super is outlined on page 43 of the Product Disclosure Statement. For more information on insurance-only accounts, please contact your account manager. Just a reminder: where a new employee quotes a tax file number (TFN) for employment purposes, it will automatically be taken as quoted for superannuation purposes and you will need to forward the TFN to the employee’s super fund – generally within 14 days. Please note that not complying with this timeframe is an offence, and that penalties may apply. Does your admin system allow this? Under the previous rules, you needed an employee’s OK to forward their TFN to their super fund (usually by way of a tick on their TFN declaration). If your admin system was set up to require this OK, you might want to review it to ensure you can comply with the new rules. For feedback, questions or more information…
Disclaimer The information in this document is general in nature. Your personal objectives, needs or general situations were not taken into account when preparing this information. You should consider the appropriateness of any general advice before acting on it, having regard to your own objectives, financial situation and needs. If the information relates to a financial product, you should obtain and consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement before making any decision to purchase that financial product. Depending on the terms of the particular plan, the Trustee may receive remuneration in respect of the superannuation interests that it issues. For providing personal advice that results in the issue of an interest in the Aon Master Trust, Aon Consulting Pty Limited may receive remuneration from the Trustee. Employees and directors of Aon Consulting Pty Limited are remunerated by way of salary, but may receive bonuses based on the quality and amount of services provided. This document has been prepared by Aon Consulting Pty Limited (ABN 48 002 288 646, AFSL 236667) a related body corporate of the trustee of the Aon Master Trust (RSE R1000566), Aon Superannuation Pty Limited (ABN 83 057 982 822, AFSL 237465, RSE L0000437). This is a relationship that might reasonably be expected to be capable of influencing Aon Consulting Pty Limited when the company provides financial advice to clients in respect of the Aon Master Trust. © 2007 This work is copyright. Apart from any
use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced
by any process nor may any other exclusive right be exercised without
the permission of Aon Consulting Pty Limited.
|
|