I have been with FSS for over 5 years. In that time I became a single mother and my income dropped to nothing, my account becoming inactive meant that the ATO claimed the funds eventually closing the account.

I recently applied for the early release of my super due to the covid 19 situation and the financial hardship that followed. Because I'd been with the fund for so long I reopened a new account with them to process my claim for early super release. I instructed the ATO to send the funds to my new account number and applied for the super ...

I called circa 21 April to discuss my options on a super matter.
I was booked with one advisor named [name removed] from Gymea office for 5 May with email confirming the same.
Two days later I received an email changing the appt to 28 April with [name removed] from the Wollongong office. No call if I preferred that.
A day later I received a call asking if I wanted an appointment have an advisor that day from the Chatswood. Hell I hadn't even completed the financial report. I explained the 3 different appointments and told them to stop changin...

Long story short. I contacted State Plus to ask what I thought was a simple question, seven business days later I received a reply that my 10 year old granddaughter could have penned and SPELT better. The reply did not address my question fully, I then contacted the call centre staff and that's when the problems really started. I then asked to speak to the Practice Manager who did call me. She was very polite etc ,unlike the other staff member. She listened to my problem and then rang back to inform me that yes ,they could get around the issue...

If you want to make a complaint you can’t make it as part of the call you have made for service support or assistance. A separate email needs to be sent. First state super then respond I cryptic emails that don’t help or address you’re circumstances. When you call to seek further advice staff refer you back to the email that is not clear. If I was to make an educated this happens because staff do not understand what has been sent out themselves. I would not recommend this super fund to any one based off service.

I opened a first state super account approx 10 years ago when i was unable to salary sacrifice to my SASS account .
After reading some of the reviews on this site about low returns and high fees i got my last 3 annual statements out 2016/2017 in growth fund the yearly fees $95.00..investment earnings aprox 12.3%........2017/2018 in growth fund yearly fees $109.00 rate of return 10.1%..............2018/2019 in growth fund fees $121.61 return 7.8% this is an average of over 10% P/A...so as far as the insurance side of things fortunately i have never needed to claim but as far as the fees and returns and the customer phone service which again i have only used 2 or 3 times i am happy with there performance.......

This is a company that has compensated its clients to the tune of close to $100 million for charging clients an ongoing advice fee of 0.75% that many clients are not even aware that they are paying a fee for.

Advisors are also remunerated based on how much money they bring in to the firm by way of recommending contributions to a StatePlus super fund.

Bunch of thieves. Stay away.

I have FSS, including life insurance and terminal illness benefit.
You must have an enduring power of attorney (EPA) in place to claim terminal illness benefit. If you have no EPA in place and cannot communicate or fill in a form, they will not allow you to claim.

I was in a coma with terminal heart failure documented by the surgeon. I was therefore unable to speak to request the forms, or access the website and print them off. I miraculously survived, but now need a heart transplant and can’t work. My wife and the hospital social worker trie...

I've been with them for 16 years. I see they have no problem deducting their fees, but submit a TPD claim and try following up. Good luck!! I've been nothing but nice and screwed around from the start. They never answer the phone or reply to email. Promise to update and never call back. Not once.
I was going to say that maybe you have to actually die for something to happen, but i read a previous review and even that seems unlikely.
On a positive note, they are polite but it's at the stage where being nice is pointless.
I'm just going to ring them 10 times a day until they are as annoyed as me.
I hope they don't expect my business following this matter. FSS are no better than their bottom dwelling insurer.

My Lawyer first submitted an insurance claim to First State Super nearly 18 months ago. I understand that TAL (the insurer) will do virtually anything to delay, deny and dispute claims but First State Super provided no support at all and made no effort to progress the claim, which is still stalled. First State Super don't help, support or advocate for their members through this process at all. I don't know if other superannuation companies are any better but they couldn't be any worse. If you have insurance products with First State Super and you are in the unfortunate experience where you need to claim, you can expect similar treatment. This is why I changed my superannuation. I would advise you do the same.

Compared my super performance with the All Ords and it consistently does worse! What's the point of paying fees if their advisors can't even beat the All Ords Index!?

Their online platform is a whole other issue. In this digital age it is extrutiatingly painful to fill out forms for what should be self service.

State Super has boosted its fee income by linking products to overpriced and pretty lame financial advice services. I have been charged for financial advice services not provided on many occasions. State Super self disclosed fees for no service to avoid royal commission scrutiny. Getting my money back has been a draining experience. As soon as I have my money I will join an industry fund - avoid this fund- they are a bad smell from the eighties.

It has been almost two weeks since I have requested to merge two of my accounts and I am still waiting to hear from First State Super to complete my request. I can imagine what will be kind of customer service I can expect when it can be something more serious. Luckily, It has not been long for me since my employers started my account & I think it is time I look for super with better service. I am sure they would look into my open request to investigate further, FYI it is ticket No: 157049.

I was a commonwealth employee for 34 years under the comsuper scheme. State super financial services, now State plus are contracted to look after the financial advice etc for comsuper.

Now as a private super fund things are a bit different. I have never kept a financial advisor for more than one appointment, they just disappear and I have found out at a much later date. I really cant keep up it it really annoys me.

Personally I kept asking myself, are they trying to steer me in a direction that maximises their profit and not mine? Never con...

My Spouse opened an Allocated Pension Fund on his retirement in 2012 and nominated me as his Reversionary Beneficiary. While he was alive we were quite satisfied with the fund. I expected that the transfer would be automatic but since his death in July 2019 I have been treated with contempt by this Company. Firstly they told me that there was no Nomination on the Fund although they had been listing me on the Centrelink Statement each year. When I challenged this they ignored me until I hired a Solicitor to write to them. They only responded to ...

Please people be aware that when you really need your insurance you will be in for a long wait, I am 14 months in and still no decision. Documents sent to wrong insurers, requests not actioned with myself having to call weekly to make sure the claim is progressing, 3 weeks to send a document from one insurer to another insurer. I have a lawyer but hasn't made a bit of difference. Im now facing eviction from my home because I can't pay my mortgage. No regulatory body to look at how fund handles claim until a decision is made seems wrong to me. Please if anyone else is in same position please email me. This is not fair and certainly not ethical.
Jacaberc@aol.com

I have been with this fund for 3 years and they continually charge fees until there is nothing left in my account. They are poorly investing money also as it has made little returns. I cancelled the un needed insurance and they started it back up again just because they could. Stay away and switch funds as soon as you can.

I've been in the income stream phase of my super since 2014. I have always taken the minimum amount out each month and although the sharemarket has had some instability over this time I note that I now have more money in my account now than when I first entered retirement. This was certainly not my expectation. I'm happy with their performance.

Very unhappy with performance to date. Paid all year only to be in the red at end of year. Very poor investment choices and NO accountability . Customer service very lackluster with the attitude of we have your money so too bad! Literally would have been better off putting my money under my mattress

I have recently been reading the on line State Plus reviews and have been shocked by the negative tone of some reviewers as this is totally at odds with my own experience.

I have been a client of State Plus at Gosford for a long time and for the last few years my advisor has been Bradley. He has done a wonderful job in guiding me through retirement at aged 60 then returning to work part time and his financial advice has proven to be very sound.

I have a Flexible Income Plan with State Plus. I draw out 4% each month as a pension payment ...

I had an allocated pension with StatePlus for 10 years. I'm sorry I didn't do more research on the performance of super-funds before I joined, but I was sort of hurried into it by a previous employer when I resigned from full-time work. The Royal Commission last year into financial services got me motivated. I discovered this fund does not perform wonderfully, probably in an average range and its investment fees are higher than many other funds.
I have now switched to another industry fund that has better performance (and I did look at this ove...