APSS (Australia Post Superannuation Scheme)

Requesting information – I worked for Australia Post in March 1996-November1999 at Welshpool Business Centre, Perth WA also at Boulder LPO, Kalgoorlie-Boulder WA in February-November 2004. I am trying to find my superannuation accumulated in these timeframes. Could you please send me information regarding which super fund names I need to search for those years also I need… Read more

my APS Number for both positions. How can I get a copy of my account balance so I can withdraw because I am now retired and have been for 7 years now. Could you please send my requested information to my email address recorded. Thank you for your time and consideration and God Bless all at Australia Post.

Response to WayneT (et al) – There seems to a misunderstanding about defined benefit. Defined benefit does not earn the employee interest by definition (it is actually asset growth, not interest, but close enough). The account beneficiary (the employee) is not exposed to market changes at all - the fund itself bears market growth and shrinkage. The contributions and their… Read more

investment fund a specific, defined benefit (hence the name), usually a multiple of your annual pay as of retirement. The contributions "buy" a multiple of your salary each year (e.g. 0.2 x your salary). These are the two ways in which defined benefit usually significantly outperforms defined contribution (i.e. accumulation). Firstly; your multiple is purchased at your current pay rate and paid out at your exiting pay rate. If you get a pay rate increase, your entire benefit increases by the same ratio. Secondly; as stated your benefit is not exposed to the market. For example, during the GFC, accumulation accounts lost a lot of value (many lost more than 30%) while defined benefit accounts simply continued to increase by the purchased multiple and any pay rise. Defined benefit is waning in popularity, partly due to employee mobility and partly because they cost the fund a lot more.

Terrible Superannuation Scheme – The Defined Benefit part of the Australia Post Super Scheme is dreadful. You earn zero interest on this part of your money, put in by Australia Post. Yes, zero interest $0.00 from day 1. However, the contribution part ( market return ) of this Super Scheme does earn interest, the money the worker puts in. I heard many of my colleagues at Aust Post… Read more

complain about this Super Scheme. Australia Post Management definitely did not have their workers at heart when they set up this Super Scheme and that’s really disappointing.

Hasn't been good the past couple of years – been in the fund since before it was transferred to the APSS ... the last couple of years it hasn't even grown by 2% ... my other two super funds have both grown about 20% in the last two years ... not sure who's managing the investments but i could have made better investments myself ... the shares I own privately have been doing great and… Read more

paying good dividends in the past two years so i have have no idea how the APSS has done so badly ... I didn't get a statement in 2021, i understand why now ... it's been doing so badly ... perhaps the new Aust Retirement Trust will do a better job now they have taken over ... they couldn't do much worse than the APSS did ... I would have been better off investing the money myself over the years, I would probably have doubled what my current retirement amount is ... disappointing

very disappointing – I have been with Australia Post Superannuation Scheme for 14 years , and Australian Postal Corporation official decision to grant me of Invalidity Retirement due to illness , but APSS Insurance used all the tricks , they didn't pay me the amount of the benefits in dispute ( approximately $87,915 as at 15 April 2004 ) I will never give up asking Australia Post Superannuation Scheme to give me this money back .

Worst type of super scheme ever implemented – There are too many issues with this fund that ill describe in dot point form, however all of that could be forgiven if it were not for just one fact - You cannot leave the defined benefit scheme unless you resign or retire. Terrible prospect for the reasons i'll list below: 1. This defined benefit scheme only increases by the 14.3% of your FAS,… Read more

any investments made are kept by the APSS and not returned to any members. meaning you could have $200,000 in your DB and APSS will earn any and all interest it makes. (Even a tiny annual rate of 2.5% would have given you $5,000 each year NOT counting compounding interest!)

2. Approx July 2014, The previous CEO had removed the indexation of the salary to average weekly ordinary time earnings in the scheme. So unless staff start getting more than 3% pay rises per year, the super balance at retirement age will be significantly less.

3. In the 1st July, 2012, the APSS closed the fund to any new staff starting at Australia Post. Cannot be sure if this will be detrimental to current members or not, however it does mean no new funds coming in to fund the older members. (Remember, APSS invest the members funds and keep the profits - and losses. So if the market does have a crash, then the remaining finite funds from current members are all thats left to fund a potentially unfunded scheme).

4. Our DB fund is calculated by this method described on their website here: https://www.apss.com.au/member-benefits/?page=14-3--defined-benefit

As partially mentioned above, the scheme uses this formula for the funds. The main issue with that is now (and for the forseeable future) with our pay increases being on par with inflation and CPI, the effect is largely negated. This isn't such an issue for standard accumulation funds, as even small balances will move up with market returns.

5. This is a Pro and a Con of the scheme. The TPD provided is reasonably decent, and no fees are charged for this component of the benefit (as far as i can see). However, the only way to take 'advantage' of such a decent component is to either die or become permanently disabled. It deteriorates significantly closer to retirement age.

6. Fees, or the lack of fees charged for the DB are admittedly very very small (from what i can see). However my argument against that would be:

Fees can be adjusted in standard accumulation funds by the way of; - changing your investment strategy - changing your income protection insurance level and TPD level

And best way is to change superannuation funds, which leads me to my last point.

7. A current APSS member CANNOT leave the APSS, unless you retire or resign. So my options are to destroy my life now, and get another job for the next 3 or 4 decades, or resign to the fact ill have a sub par super balance at the end of my working life with post.

For anyone working at the APSS, the option to cease adding to the DB and starting from scratch in a standard accum fund is NOT a option, as i will have to start again, from the age of 35. And the DB currently remaining locked until i retire will be eroded over the next 3 to 4 decades with inflation, becoming essentially worth less than half of current balance (based on 4 decades of 2% inflation per year).

There are alot of misnomers and mistruths regarding this scheme, and all anyone has to do is scratch the surface to find them yourself.

I have added an email and a link to a paper on this as well:

https://www.actuaries.asn.au/Library/Events/FSF/2012/FSF2012PaperEinfeld.pdf

I have more ammo, but i am pretty sure anyone reading this far is exhausted at this point. I sure am.

Defined Benefit – The defined benefit component of your super is not yours until you leave Australia Post, they will lend it to you at an alarmingly high interest rate until you leave Australia Post

DISGRACEFUL – Lodged My Super Claim 3 weeks ago.I was sent Letter to say it was All Processed into my Bank Account.No Money Received into my Account now I have to wait for them to Investigate where it went.Everday they say they are working on it so Stressful and no Recourse.

Great super since inception – Joined Apss in 1990 and retired in 2011 and transferred into pension scheme had good returns in both, Any enquirery was deat with in a timely manner and I have found staff helpful and knowledgeable and always did what they said they would do.  Show reply

A Staff with Excellent Customer Service – After numerous phone calls and talking to 4 different APSS staff trying to get them to fax a copy of a document to my tax agent which I needed to lodge my tax return because the one they sent me by post was lost in the mail, there was only one person who went out of his way to help me, and his name is Soma. Thank you so much Soma for all your… Read more ·  1

help... you really made my day because I was beginning to worry that I would not be able to lodge my Income Tax Return before I go away, but now I am so relieved that my tax agent has advised me that he has just submitted my Tax Return. If it wasn’t for you I would have given APSS a rating of 1 star. Your customer service is excellent....a person with your attitude would go along way in his/her career.

Disgraceful service – Dealing with my deceased mothers affairs I lodged all required documentaion via express post on the 22nd of Feb with APSS and after numerous follow ups on my end, we are yet to have this straight fwd matter finaliased

CONNED by post – Me too. Conned from CSS to APSS now cant retire till 60 as the rules changed for APSS but not CSS. In Tas they fought to go back to CSS and won. But nothing is said to anyone else.? Also now I have gone to parttime my fas has frozen. Thanks [name removed].

So unhelpful – Have called 3 times to inquiry about the status of a claim, no one is ever in the claims centre and I am yet to receive a call back.

No response to request – I need a copy of my balance for Centrelink so I can draw the aged pension . A simple strait forward request you would think . I'm still waiting . When I ring I am told you should have it by now . Well guess what ? I haven't . Emails never answered . Deplorable customer service .

Terrible and useless customer service; limited investment option – When you request information on the phone, they have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. I was trying to withdraw funds from my account since I am over 65. They tried to argue with me that I cannot because I am still working. Finally they agreed and send me the form (since they are not available online). They sent me the wrong form… Read more

and I tried to ring and went through the same thing- have to tell them again I can withdraw my fund because I am over 65!

Let's hope I get the correct form this time.

change asap – I unfortunately had dealings with them. I wish I didn't. They will spend more on fighting you to set an example so others don't claim. I was retired hurt at work and got zero. My tpd money kept by them. Peanuts for such large organisation a lot for a family with little kids. Nasty experience to live through.

Excellent – Have been in this fund since inception and could see the benefits from staying in the Commonwealth Super Scheme. I've been retired now for 3 years and found the Pension perfermance excellent just like it was during the accumulation phase. More than happy with my decision to stay with them. I did my homework when the information sessions came out… Read more

and found that it was a tough decision as both schemes were excellent but I've never regretted my decision to change to the APSS. I also sought independent advice who confirmed that both schemes were good but the APSS had one extra benefit that swayed my decision.

My wife has a good scheme too through the state government but APSS often out performs them over a long period of time.

It has low fees and access to some private markets that other funds dont have although recently I noticed they are moving more away from this.

The returns during the GFC were better than most retail funds and during the last 5 years before I retired, it constantly reviewed better than many other funds under Super reviews.

If you are thinking of leaving APSS, do your homework as the APSS is one of the few defined benefit schemes left which is better than any accumulated schemes. Low fees and returns and investments

Conned by australia post – I too was conned to opt out of the old Commonwealth super scheme and go into the apss scheme. I still have all the paper work and visually recorded the sessions provided by post for the new super scheme. It is my intention to take legal action if by the retirement age my apss is less than the old scheme I was in as I was informed by the session… Read more

salesman that the new apss scheme is a far more attractive retirement scheme .

that was more than 25 yrs ago but so glad to have kept the evidence.

Not Happy – Was a member of the Commonwealth Superanuation Scheme and was conned out of it in 1990. The so called information sessions conducted by Post were in fact , giving financial advice to employees to switch to the APSS.. No positive information regarding the CSS, Cash return is not so good.

APSS Performance – It has performed very well since I became a self funded retiree six years ago. Sure, it lost money due to the GFC, but in comparison to other funds it has performed very well. It reacts to the market slower than most, thus giving time to adjust one's portfolio. Overall I consider the APSS to be one of the better funds available. If you choose the… Read more

non negative alternative, you must expect the returns to be lower when others are higher, to compensate for the non negative results when most are losing money. Overall it probably balances out over the long term. If you "jump ship", you may do so at your own peril. Be very careful ! Most of my friends are at least 30% worse of than me, as they were in other super funds over the past 8 years. Some have lost 75% of their money over the last 12 years, as they went to "financial advisers" (a very loose term), instead of just leaving their money where it was. I was told by several of these so called "advisers" to put all my super where it would have have performed very badly. Concluding, I am very happy with the APSS. Reliable, vertually no fees. Can not front their office. Mail only, to make adjustments or alter monies.