In Brief
- A new study of 20 super funds found all were failing on customer service.
- Not a single fund scored above 55 per cent in the customer service benchmark.
Australian superannuation funds have been handed a poor report card after a mystery shopping exercise found call centre staff across the sector were falling short on basic customer care.
The study, published by consumer group Super Consumers Australia on Tuesday, found call centres at 20 of the country's biggest funds delivered inconsistent and unempathetic service that often fell short of basic expectations.
But parts of the sector have pushed back on the findings and methodology of the study.
What did the study find?
Super Consumers Australia commissioned customer experience firm Customer Service Benchmarking Australia (CSBA) to run 1,000 mystery shopper calls across the 20 funds between August and October last year, posing as prospective members, non-English-speaking customers' relatives, and people in financial distress.
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The average customer service score sat at 49.9 per cent.
Not a single fund cracked 55 per cent — well short of the 80 per cent regarded as the "green zone", which indicates optimal performance for customer experience across sectors.
By comparison, utilities, banking, education and local government all scored higher than the super sector.
Consistency was also a problem, with individual scores swinging from as low as 20 per cent to as high as 86 per cent, even within the same fund.
CareSuper came out on top with 55 per cent, followed by Rest Super and TelstraSuper.
Seven in 10 callers from customers in vulnerable or distressing situations rated agents five or lower out of 10 for empathy.
Two funds were excluded from the overall rankings because so many calls didn't get through. AustralianSuper connected only 10 per cent of its calls within 15 minutes, while Team Super connected to 52 per cent, against an 87 per cent average across the rest of the sector.
"Superannuation is mandatory, but good customer service is not. That has to change," Super Consumers Australia CEO Xavier O’Halloran said. "This pilot study shows that, right now, getting the right support can depend on who answers the phone."
"People should not have to beg their super fund for basic help. If your fund is not listening, complain. If poor service keeps happening, consider taking your money elsewhere."
He called for mandatory customer service standards to be implemented for super funds, as is standard in other sectors.
Funds reject report
AustralianSuper rejected the findings, saying the study was conducted while it was mid-transition to a new call centre provider.
"Our customer satisfaction scores right now are the highest they've ever been, and our average speed of answer is less than two minutes," an AustralianSuper spokesperson said.
The Super Members Council, the industry's peak advocacy body, questioned the study's methodology — noting the mystery shoppers weren't members of the funds they called and calls couldn't proceed past identity verification, a safeguard against scams and fraud.
It also pointed out the study only tested phone contact, not the other channels members use to reach their fund.
Financial regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), has been monitoring the sector's efforts to improve customer service in the wake of the death benefits revelations.
While many trustees have made positive improvements in their claims handling practices, stragglers have failed to implement basic improvements, ASIC found in a June report.
ASIC has been undertaking a multi-year review focused on improving member interactions with super funds, a spokesperson said in a statement.
A spokesperson for Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino said the government was consulting on better standards for the industry and would be releasing draft legislation soon.
— With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press.
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