FAQs | Active Super

FAQ

Here we have put together a list of some of the common enquiries we receive.

You can choose to invest your account balance and/or your future contributions (including roll-ins, Superannuation Guarantee contributions and personal contributions) in a combination of one or more of our investment options.

You can also invest your future contributions in a different combination of investment options than the one you have for the existing balance of your super account.

Please note that these multiple investment options are only available to members of the Accumulation Scheme and Account-Based Pension Plan.

Members of the Retirement Scheme can only invest in one of the six investment options at any one time. Defined Benefit Scheme members can only invest in the Defined Benefit Strategy.

If you would like to boost your super by making an optional one-off after-tax superannuation contribution you can make contributions through BPAY® or EFT. For BPAY® log into Member Online or see our banking details. Alternatively, you can fill in the Optional post-tax contribution form and return it to us.

Additional insurance requires assessment by the Insurer, and you will need to complete the Voluntary insurance cover form.

You can reduce or cancel your Basic Insurance Cover via Member Online. You can also get a quote of the cost of insurance premiums via Member Online or the Active Super mobile app. Any reduction or cancellation requested via Member Online will occur instantaneously.

Or, if you prefer, you can complete the Reduce or cancel insurance cover form. This will be effective the day it is received.

To change your investment options, log into Member Online or the Active Super mobile app and go to the Investments tab. Or you can complete the Changing Investment Option(s) form on our website and return it to us by post.

If you would like to organise for your employer to pay regular contributions on your behalf to your Active Super account, complete a Member Contributions Payroll Deduction form and give it to your payroll officer.

You can apply to transfer insurance cover you have outside Active Super so you are not holding multiple insurance policies. Simply fill in the Insurance Transfer form and return it to us.

If you want to change your membership details, such as your name, contact details or address, you can download a form or do it online or via the Active Super mobile app. You may need to provide certified proof of your identity and date of birth documentation. Please see the Proof of Identity document for more information.

If you would like to roll over your super and consolidate all your accounts into Active Super, you can download a Transfer-in Authority form and send it to us. There is no cost for this service.

If you have requested your switch via Member Online or the Active Super mobile app, it will be processed on the same day. If you have requested your switch via the Changing Investment Option(s) form the effective date of your switch will be the date we receive the form.

The Changing Investment Option(s) form also allows you to nominate a later date you want the investment option change to take effect.

If a contribution, transfer or rollover is rejected or processing is delayed, the money will be held in a trust account until it is processed or refunded. The Fund will keep any interest earned on the trust account.

You can apply for early release of your super on compassionate grounds, terminal illness, temporary incapacity, permanent incapacity, if you are experiencing severe financial hardship, if you are a temporary resident about to leave Australia and not planning to live here again, or you have less than $200 in super.

These are known as Conditions of Release.

For benefits to be released on compassionate grounds, you must meet certain criteria and receive ATO approval prior to the Trustee releasing any funds.
To qualify, you must:

Be an Australian or New Zealand citizen or permanent resident
Be unable to pay for:

medical treatment or medical transport for your or your dependant;
palliative care for your or your dependant
a payment on a home loan or council rates so you don’t lose your home;
accommodating a disability for you or your dependant; or
expenses associated with the death, funeral, or burial of your dependant

Have no other way to pay such as using savings or selling assets

The amount of super that you can pay on compassionate grounds is limited to what is reasonably needed. It is paid as a lump sum. You will need to apply to the Australian Tax Office ATO (phone 13 10 20) who, if they approve, will then inform us of their approval to release your super and how much.
For more information, visit the ATO website .

There are a few options available to you. Refer to the Planning for retirement section for more information.

In certain circumstances you may access a portion of your superannuation for reasons of 'severe financial hardship'. To do so you need to satisfy one of the following two conditions:

Receiving Commonwealth support for a continuous period of 26 weeks, and being unable to meet reasonable and immediate family expenses.
Reaching preservation age (55 or above depending on your birth date) and receiving Commonwealth support for 39 weeks after reaching preservation age.

You will need to apply to Active Super for early release of your superannuation benefits. To support your application, you may apply to Centrelink for a confirmation letter showing you have received and are still receiving eligible income support payments.

Any early release of superannuation may be taxed.

Please call us on 1300 LGSUPER (1300 547 873) between 8.30am and 5.00pm, Monday to Friday, for more information.

Yes, you will see all linked accounts in Member Online. If you cannot see one or more of your accounts, please call us on 1300 547 873 weekdays between 8.30am and 6.00pm.

Yes, any number including international numbers can be used for MFA.

Member Online can be accessed from desktop and laptop computers as well as tablets, phones, and other mobile devices. Active Super also has a native mobile app that allows members to access their super via facial recognition or with the touch of a finger. Access to Members Online may depend on the user's device, including if the device has the latest software update.

Google Authenticator and Okta Authenticator are available as options when you are travelling overseas and don’t have your Australian mobile SIM card activated to international roaming. Once set up on a device, they can be used in most locations, including when you’re back home in Australia. Please see our guide to help you set-up Google authenticator or Okta Authenticator for Member Online.

If you’d like to receive PIN codes via SMS to an international pre-paid number, please reset your MFA while your Australian number is still active, and then wait until you have access to the new number to re-register for MFA. This will need to be repeated when you return home to restore the Australian number.

MFA can be set up when you register for Member Online. It uses a PIN that you can receive using an ‘SMS’ on your mobile or via ‘Voice Call Authentication’. Then, whenever you log on, you will need to verify your identity using your username, password, and PIN.

Just grab your member number and head to our Member Online registration page. Then follow the steps to register. You’ll find your member number in the top right corner of your Active Super member statement or on your membership card. Or you can ask us to email it to you by requesting to find your username. If you have any questions or need help, simply call us on 1300 547 873, weekdays between 8.30am and 6.00pm.

Keeping your data secure is a priority for us and we recently increased our online security measures for added protection. Now, to access Member Online, rather than just asking for a username and password, we use multi-factor authentication (MFA). MFA requires one or more additional verification factors, decreasing the risk of a cyber-attack.

Member Online is a secure and easy way for Active Super members to manage their super online. Depending on the type of account you have, members can:

Check their balance(s) and transaction history
Make additional contributions via bpay (Accumulation Scheme member only)
Switch investment options
Review insurance (Accumulation Scheme member only)
Generate Centrelink/DVA schedules (Pension members only)
Change pension payments and request additional payments (Pension members only)
View current and past statements and beneficiaries

Making a binding death benefit nomination is optional. However, making a nomination means your wishes are met after your death. If you do not make a binding nomination, or your nomination is invalid or expired when you die, the Trustee will, at its discretion, pay the benefit to one or more of your Legal Personal Representatives or dependants.

To make a binding death benefit nomination, you must complete the Binding death benefit nomination form and return it to us. If you make a valid nomination it becomes effective from the date of signing. The Trustee must pay your benefit in accordance with your valid binding nomination to your Legal Personal Representative and/or dependants if all your nominated dependants survive you and are your dependants at the time of your death.

There are specific rules for a nomination to be valid and binding. Please read the instructions in the form carefully.

A binding death benefit nomination will usually expire and cease to have effect three years after being made or last confirmed. You can confirm the arrangements are still the same by completing the Confirmation of existing binding death benefit nomination form and returning it to us, which extends the term for another three years from the date of signing.

The Trustee must follow a valid binding death benefit nomination, regardless of whether your circumstances have changed, so it is important that you keep it up to date.

Superannuation can’t be included in your will unless you’ve specified certain instructions with your super fund first. This is because your super is held for you in a trust by the trustee, and governed by superannuation legislation rather than wills and estates law.

If you want to dictate who will receive your super when you die – you can make a binding death benefit nomination for your beneficiaries by completing the Binding death benefit nomination form.

A binding death benefit nomination allows you to provide the trustee of your super fund with specific instructions on how to distribute your super benefit in the event of your death.

For more information on binding nominations, take a look at our fact sheet on Nominating Beneficiaries.

Concessional super contributions are contributions which are taken from your before-tax salary and attract the concessional tax rate of 15% rather than your marginal tax rate. These usually include the compulsory Superannuation Guarantee contributions made by your employer on your behalf, and any contributions you make to your super before tax.

You are only eligible for the concessional tax rate if you have provided us with your Tax File Number (TFN).

Non-concessional super contributions are those contributions you make from your after-tax salary and they generally do not attract any tax when they are contributed to your super account.

The standard concessional cap is $27,500 per annum and applies to all members. If you earn more than $250,000 per annum, some or all of your concessional contributions may be taxed at 30%.

If your total superannuation balance is less than $500,000, you may be entitled to contribute more that the general concessional cap on a rolling 5 year basis. Unused carry forward amounts will expire after five years.

Non-concessional contributions are capped at $110,000 per year, or $330,000 over three years. Maximum one-off contribution amounts are capped at $330,000 for members under 75.

For more information on contributions, refer to the applicable Product Disclosure Statement for your Scheme.

Salary sacrificing is an arrangement where you receive part of your gross salary as a benefit rather than salary. The benefit is paid from your gross salary, i.e. before tax.

Salary sacrificing to make super contributions will reduce your take-home pay but because it reduces your taxable income, you may pay less tax overall. Your super contribution is taxed at 15% when it is contributed to your fund but for most people this rate will be lower than their marginal tax rate that would have paid if the contribution were received as salary.

Note that your salary sacrifice contributions will count towards your concessional contributions cap.

If you are planning to move overseas, you may be able to take your super with you.

If you were a permanent resident of Australia who has moved to another country, you are unable to access your super until you retire, no matter where you are living. The only exceptions are if you satisfy another Condition of Release. In this case please contact Active Super on 1300 547 873 to discuss your specific concerns.

If you were a temporary resident of Australia and have departed Australia, you are entitled to receive your super benefits through a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment. You can apply for this payment online through the Australian Taxation Office.

You will need to complete the Notification of Tax File Number form and send it to us, or you can call our Member Care team on 1300 547 873 between 8.30am and 6.00pm, Monday to Friday, and quote your TFN.

Will you use my TFN for any other purposes?

We will only use your TFN for purposes permitted by law, such as to:

find and identify your super benefits when other information is insufficient.
calculate the tax on your superannuation benefits
provide information to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) so they can assess any tax payable on your contributions.

For more information on TFNs, take a look at the ATO website or you can call our Member Care team.

It is not compulsory to provide us with your tax file number (TFN) but if you do not provide us with your TFN:

you may be liable for extra income tax on your concessional or pre-tax contributions and this will be deducted from your super account
we may not be able to accept your non-concessional or after-tax super contributions
you may not be paid the Federal Government's super co-contribution (if you are eligible).

Also if you do not provide us with a TFN, you may find it difficult to locate your super benefits in the future and consolidate them into one account.

For more information on TFNs, you can call our Member Care team.

You will need to arrange for an authorised person to certify your documents. Our Proof of Identity Fact Sheet lists the authorised persons that can certify, which include but not limited to a Justice of the Peace, a solicitor, an accountant with more than two years’ continuous membership of a professional body, a police officer or a permanent employee of Australia Post with more than two years’ continuous service.

The authorised person must sight the original and the copy of the document to make sure they are identical. They must certify all the pages of the document and provide particular details and the date they certified the document.

This person who certifies the documents must also be both independent and impartial and not related to the member such as a spouse or a family member.

We may reject the documents if there is any actual or perceived conflict of interest.

For more benefit payments electronic identification is available for members. You can provide two of the following documents for verification;

Medicare card;
Australian Drivers licence;
Australian Passport.

If you don't wish to use electronic verification you can provide a certified copy of your current Australian driver's licence or an Australian passport which is current or has not expired for more than two years.

Other acceptable documents may include certified copies of Citizenship Certificates, Birth Certificates, Local Government rate notices, and account notices from utilities such as electricity, gas, water or telephone which are no more than three months old.

If you have changed your name, you must provide a certified copy of a document which shows the link between your old and new names such as a Marriage Certificate, Deed Poll, Change of Name Certificate or a Decree Nisi.

Our Proof of Identity fact sheet provides more information.

Under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 if you are a member of a super fund you must provide proof of your identity and your date of birth when you apply for the payment of a benefit and this also includes any application for release, transfer, deferral, or an insurance claim.

These measures are to protect you against fraud and enable us to be reasonably satisfied that we have identified the person making the application is who they claim to be.

LGSS Pty Limited: 68 078 003 497

Active Super: 28 901 371 321

LGSS Pty Limited: 383558

LGSS Pty Limited: L001243

If you have changed jobs or are consolidating your other super into LGS, you might need some of these numbers to help you complete the necessary forms.