Annuity
An
annuity
is
a
form
of
pension.
When
a
person
retires
they
have
the
option
of
using
their
superannuation
to
purchase
an
annuity
from
a
company,
such
as
a
Life
Insurance
Company,
which
is
a
contract
with
that
company
to
be
paid
a
specific
amount
of
money
at
regular
intervals
for
a
specific
period
of
time.
Annuity
Policy
An
annuity
offered
by
a
Life
Insurance
Company.
Annuities
offered
by
Life
Insurance
Companies.
Other
organisations
such
as
Friendly
Societies
and
some
Credit
Unions
also
offer
annuities.
See section3 of the Superannuation (Resolution of Complaints) Act 1993 (the SRC Act)
Approved
Deposit
Fund
(ADF)
An
approved
Deposit
Fund
is
a
superannuation
fund
which
does
not
accept
contributions
but
does
accept
rollovers.
See section 10 of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993
APRA
Australian
Prudential
Regulatory
Authority
APRA
is
one
of
the
two
government
departments
charged
with
the
primary
responsibility
for
supervising
the
superannuation
system,
together
with
ASIC
superannuation
benefits
on
compassionate
grounds.
The
Tribunal
is
unable
to
deal
with
complaints
about
decisions
of
APRA
Phone 13 10 60
ASFA
Association
of
Superannuation
Funds
of
Australia
A
peak
body
of
superannuation
funds
which
plays
a
representative,
research
and
lobby
role
for
funds.
ASIC
Australian
Securities
and
Investments
Commission
ASIC
is
one
of
the
two
government
departments
charged
with
the
primary
responsibility
for
supervising
the
superannuation
system,
together
with
APRA.
In
particular
ASIC
is
responsible
for
issues
relating
to
information
provided
to
members.
Phone 1300 300 6300
ATO
Australian
Taxation
Office
The
ATO
is
involved
in
the
taxation
of
superannuation
funds,
the
regulation
of
Self
Managed
Funds,
maintaining
the
Lost
Members’
Register
and
enforcing
the
payment
of
employer
contributions
to
superannuation
funds
in
accordance
with
the
Superannuation
Guarantee
legislation.
Phone 13 10 20
Beneficiary
The
beneficiary
of
a
superannuation
fund,
annuity
policy
or
RSA
is
the
person
to
whom
the
benefit
is
paid.
While
in
most
cases
this
is
the
member/Annuitant/RSA
holder,
the
term
is
most
often
used
when
talking
about
the
person
to
whom
the
benefit
can
be
paid
in
circumstances
where
the
member/Annuitant/RSA
holder
has
died.
See
‘Dependant’.
See section 10 of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993
Conciliation
Conciliation
is
the
process
by
which
the
Tribunal
gets
the
parties
together
to
try
and
resolve
the
complaint
by
agreement
between
the
parties.
Contribution
A
contribution
is
an
amount
paid
into
a
superannuation
fund
or
RSA
for
a
specific
member.
Contributions
are
normally
paid
by
the
member
or
on
behalf
of
the
member
by
his/her
employee.
See Regulation 1.03 of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994: ‘contributions’
Death
Benefit
This
is
the
benefit
paid
from
a
superannuation
fund
or
RSA
when
a
member
dies.
Generally
the
benefit
can
only
be
paid
to
one
or
more
of
the
member’s
Dependants
and/or
the
legal
personal
representative
(LPR).
If
there
are
no
Dependants
and
no
LPR
the
benefit
may
be
paid
to
another
person
who
is
not
a
Dependant,
often
a
close
relative
such
as
a
parent
or
brother
of
the
member.
Deferred
Annuity
An
annuity
where
the
payments
will
not
start
until
some
date
in
the
future.
An
deferred
annuity
is
usually
purchased
with
a
rollover
by
a
person
who
is
still
working,
with
payments
to
start
when
the
person
retires.
Case
Officer
A
staff
member
of
the
Tribunal
responsible
for
obtaining
information
from
the
various
parties
to
a
complaint,
and
for
conducting
the
Tribunal’s
inquiry
into
the
matter.
Dependant
In
superannuation
terms,
‘Dependant
‘
is
used
to
describe
those
people
to
whom
a
superannuation
benefit
can
be
paid
if
the
member
dies
while
their
superannuation
is
still
in
a
superannuation
fund.
A person is a ‘Dependant’:
because of their relationship to the member (husband, wife, defacto spouse, child, including adult child and adopted child) or;
because the person was financially dependent on the member.
If a person is Dependant by relationship eg. the wife of a member, it is not necessary for them to also be financially dependent to meet the definition of Dependant.
See section 10 of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993
Determination
In
relation
to
a
complaint,
a
determination
is
the
formal,
written
decision
of
the
Tribunal
after
considering
a
complaint
at
a
review
meeting.
It
describes
the
complaint,
provides
the
Tribunal
decision,
the
reasons
for
the
decision
and
the
orders
made
in
connection
with
the
decision.
Eligible
Termination
Payment
(ETP)
Lump
Sum
payment
from
a
superannuation
fund
or
RSA.
Depending
on
the
circumstances,
the
benefit
may
be
able
to
be
paid
directly
to
the
member
or
may
be
rolled
over
to
another
fund.
An
ETP
may
also
be
paid
by
an
employer
in
respect
of
certain
entitlements
when
a
member
ceases
employment.
See Subdivision AA of Division 2 of Part III of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936
Exempt
Public
Sector
Superannuation
Scheme
(EPSSS)
Some
Public
Sector
Superannuation
Schemes
(for
Government
employees)
are
exempt
from
complying
with
SIS,
making
them
and
EPSSS,
while
some
are
regulated
funds.
The
Tribunal
is
able
to
deal
with
complaints
about
some
of
these
funds.
Generally,
it
can
deal
with
complaints
about
the
funds
operated
by
the
Commonwealth
Government
and
the
Governments
of
Queensland
and
Western
Australia.
You
may
need
to
contact
the
Tribunal
for
more
information
if
you
have
a
complaint
about
one
of
these
funds.
See s.10 of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993
Financially
dependent
Person
A
is
financially
dependent
on
person
B
if
A
relies
on
B
for
regular
financial
support.
A
does
not
have
to
be
totally
financially
dependent
on
B,
but
the
financial
dependence
does
have
to
be
significant.
Legal
Personal
Representative
(LPR)
The
legal
personal
representative
is
a
person
appointed
to
act
on
behalf
of
another
person
or
their
estate.
In
relation
to
superannuation,
the
LPR
is
normally
the
executor,
executrix
or
administrator
of
a
deceased
person’s
estate.
See section 10 of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993
Life
Companies
Companies
that
offer
life
insurance
(
and
other
insurance
and
superannuation
products)
Examples
are
AMP,
AXA,
Colonial.
See ‘Life Insurance Company’ section 10 of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993; Life Insurance Act 1995.
Party
In
relation
to
a
complaint
‘party’
is
a
general
term
used
to
describe
a
person
or
company
who
is
a
party
to
a
complaint.
In
a
complaint
about
a
superannuation
benefit
for
example,
the
parties
to
the
complaint
will
be
the
complainant
and
the
Trustee
of
the
Fund.
If
there
is
an
insured
benefit
involved,
the
insurer
may
also
be
a
party
to
the
complaint.
Permanent
Incapacity
This
is
the
test
used
under
the
legislation
to
determine
if
a
member’s
benefits
can
be
released
from
a
superannuation
Fund
before
the
person
has
reached
retirement
age
on
the
basis
that
they
have
effectively
been
forced
to
retire
early
because
of
a
disability.
It
is
similar
to
the
typical
definition
of
TPD
and
the
two
usually
work
together
to
enable
a
member’s
benefit
(often
including
an
insured
component)
to
be
paid
to
them.
See Regulation 6.01(2)of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994
Regulated
Superannuation
Fund
Superannuation
is
generally
regulated
(controlled)
by
the
Superannuation
Industry
(Supervision)
Act
1993
(the
SIS
Act).
A
regulated
superannuation
fund
is
a
fund
which
has
elected
(applied)
to
be
regulated
under
the
SIS
Act.
In
return
for
agreeing
to
comply
with
the
requirements
of
the
Act,
the
fund
receives
certain
tax
concessions.
Most
superannuation
funds
in
Australia
are
regulated
superannuation
funds.
See section 19 of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993
Retirement
Savings
Account
(RSA)
A
special
type
of
superannuation
product
generally
provided
by
banks
which
is
not
required
to
have
a
trustee.
See section 8 of the Retirement Savings Accounts Act 1997
Rollover
A
rollover
is
an
amount
of
money
in
a
superannuation
fund
or
RSA
which
is
paid
(‘rolled
over’)
to
another
superannuation
fund.
See Div. 6.4 and 6.4A of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994
SCT
Superannuation
Complaints
Tribunal
The
Tribunal
established
by
the
Commonwealth
Government
to
deal
with
complaints
about
superannuation,
annuity
policies
and
Retirement
Savings
Accounts.
Self
Managed
Fund
(SMF)
A
Self
Managed
Fund
is
a
category
of
small
superannuation
fund
which
has
fewer
than
five
members,
and
where,
typically,
the
members
are
all
involved
in
the
operation
of
the
fund
and
no
member
is
an
employee
of
another
member.
These
funds
are
subject
to
fewer
restrictions
than
other
regulated
superannuation
funds.
The
Tribunal
cannot
deal
with
complaints
about
SMF’s.
See section 17A of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993
SIS
The
Superannuation
Industry
(Supervision)
Act
1993
This
is
the
primary
legislation
which
determines
how
superannuation
funds
operate,
what
they
can
and
cannot
do.
It
is
administered
by
APRA
and
ASIC.
SRC
Act
Superannuation
(Resolution
of
Complaints)
Act
1993
(the
SRC
Act)
The
SRC
Act
is
the
legislation
under
which
the
Tribunal
is
established
and
operates.
Statement
of
Termination
Payment
(STP)
The
statement
providing
details
about
the
various
parts
of
an
ETP.
Superannuation
Savings
for
retirement
which
are
held
in
a
superannuation
fund.
In
return
for
favorable
tax
treatment,
access
to
the
benefits
is
usually
restricted
until
a
member
retires
from
the
workforce.
Superannuation
Fund
A
type
of
trust
fund
created
specifically
to
hold
and
invest
members’
superannuation.
Superannuation
Guarantee
(SG)
Commonwealth
Government
legislation
requiring
employers
to
contribute
to
superannuation
on
behalf
of
most
employees.
The
legislation
is
enforced
by
the
ATO.
Total
and
Permanent
Disablement
(TPD)
‘Total
and
Permanent
Disablement’
is
the
test
commonly
used
in
superannuation
funds
to
determine
if
a
person
is
entitled
to
be
paid
a
TPD
benefit,
which
may
include
an
insured
amount.
While
the
definition
varies
from
one
fund
to
another,
and
it
is
necessary
to
rely
on
the
specific
definition,
it
typically
requires
that
the
member
is
totally
and
permanently
disabled
to
such
an
extent
that
they
are
incapable
of
working
in
any
occupation
for
which
they
have
the
education,
training
and
experience.
Tribunal
The
Superannuation
Complaints
Tribunal
(SCT).
Trustee
The
trustee
of
a
superannuation
fund
is
responsible
for
the
operation
and
investment
of
the
Fund.
The
Trustee
is
usually
a
corporation,
eg.
Retirement
Savings
Pty
Ltd.