24 June 2019
SOS: Call for Australians to check their life insurance before 1 July
MLC Life Insurance is urging all Australians to act now to prevent their life insurance cover from being closed because of the Australian Government's Protecting Your Super reform package changes.
The package aims to reduce the impact of life insurance and other fees on super account balances so that Australians have more money in retirement. It will come in to effect from 1 July, and will be implemented via the following changes:
- Mandated closure of life insurance coverage on inactive super accounts, with inactivity defined as super account that has not received a contribution for 16 consecutive months.
- The transfer of low balance, inactive super accounts (defined as balances under $6000 with no contribution for 16 consecutive months) to the Australian Tax Office, which will then attempt to reunify the transferred monies with a person’s active super account.
- Caps on certain (non-insurance) super account fees.
Sean McCormack, Chief of Group and Retail Partners, MLC Life Insurance, is encouraging those with life insurance in super to check their cover to ensure it meets their current needs. Australians at risk of closure should have received communications from their super fund explaining how they retain their insurance cover. MLC Life Insurance recommends any person concerned about the removal of their life insurance cover should contact their super fund as soon as possible to check their status.
Over the last six months, MLC Life Insurance has been working closely with its partners, including MLC Wealth, Energy Super, Vision Super and Qantas Super, to jointly implement the Protecting Your Super requirements. This has included supporting them on the communication and transition requirements associated with the change.
MLC Life Insurance is also one of the sponsors of the industry sponsored public Protecting Your Super awareness campaign. The campaign is aimed at educating superannuation members about the options available to them and how to take action.
More information can be found at http://www.timetocheck.com.au.