UniSuper

I had two meetings with one of their Consultants, he provided me incorrect information which caused me to have an excess tax bill of $4000. I complained to Unisuper and they offered me $79.00 as compensation when I was out of pocket $4000. The consultant actually lied when he made notes on 'his file' and advised he didn't provide me with incorrect information however, I made decisions based on this information that caused additional charges being imposed by the ATO. There customer service is pathetic and in the review they based the whole decision on the notes that the Consultant had entered into his Calendar or UniSuper system. If you are going to use this company, be warned their Superannuation consultants are under trained and provide incorrect information, so I would ensure that you seek more expert advice and don't follow what the UniSuper consultant says. Stay away from their general advice as it is wrong and could cause you some additional charges if you do what they say. You have been warned..

UniSuper, incompetent, liars and thieves. Since university employees to do not have a choice of superannuation funds (forced into UniSuper), I have been with UniSuper for approx. 12 years. I received a letter from them stating approx. 11 years ago they made a mistake (administrative oversight) with my fund and will now charge me approx. $2,000 for their error. I called to ask them to explain the error and they refused. I looked up my rights and under the Limitations of Actions Act 1958 (Vic), there is a maximum of 6 years a creditor can pursue a debt (if it was a debt as UniSuper refuses to provide any information about their administrative oversight). I wrote letters and telephoned UniSuper highlighting this ‘act’, but they refused to respond or return my calls (even the Manager Member Care). I then lodged a complaint with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority and within 90 days they responded. They informed me they made yet another error (yes can you believe it). The original administrative oversight error was wrong, and instead of charging me approx. $2,000, they should have charged me approx. $500. Of course I refused to pay or accept, and they returned all money deducted from this so called series of administrative oversights. From my experience, I would not believe a word they say. If you have a complaint, write a letter highlighting your complaint, give them a few weeks, and then move directly on to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.

I have never been to VIC and Melbourne University. Because I am an employee of a university in Sydney. However, I received a letter from Unisuper on 19 March 2019 saying that Melbourne University requested my TFN which was not matched with their record. That is wired to me because I have never been employed by Melbourne University. But I treated this as a mistake. The question is how Melbourne University has my personal information.
So, I called their customer services line and the staff told me that she would remove me from Melbourne university's record (I felt uncomfortable when heard this). The personal information of an employee of University in NSW can be accessible by a university in VIC??
Then, I asked a notification by email regarding the removal, but the staff said Unisuper could only notify me by calling. I do not understand why and was unhappy with the notification way. I reckon the reason is Unisuper does not want me to have a written record as a piece of evidence against them in the future if they keep sharing my personal information with their other customers (like Melbourne University).
Additionally, the customer service centre's staff's attitude was disappointedly rude because she was impatient to explain to me about the wrong letter and their privacy policy. And I am not a native English speaker.
I hope Unisuper can improve their computer system so that the customer's personal information is only used for the administration of the customer's super account.

I have opened a case against UniSuper with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority for their dishonest business practice. No member care at this super fund. The Temporary Incapacity benefit is not worth applying for they delayed paying from June through to the following January so no payment is made.

I joined UniSuper 18 months ago thinking the were the best Super fund. I'm very disappointed. Their accounting systems, transparency and performance reporting are all pathetic. Their website suggested to me that they had good computer systems. However, from a member's point of view, their computer systems are pathetic.
They hide behind their 'crediting rate' methodology (instead of unit rates) and don't provide history so it has been impossible, at least for me, to determine why my balances don't match the reported performance. Sometimes the sum of the component balances don't even equal the reported total - unbelievable. And as a previous reviewer has noted, don't bother trying to understand what happens when investment options are changed - the detail is simply not available.

I have been with UniSuper for about 15 years but I have gradually become frustrated with their inconsistent and non-transparent accounting practices. I am transferring everything out of Unisuper and into HostPlus, which offers much more transparency and flexibility, as well as better investment performance over the past 10 years (I have been trying them out for 2 years).
Some of my problems with Unisuper: when I rollover money out of Unisuper, they are not consistent in how long they take to action the requested transfer; it can take anywhere between 0 and 5 days, and they seem to choose whatever time will cost me the most money (I have just lost hundreds of dollars because they delayed the transfer until just after a big stock market fall!).
Whenever I change my investment options, my overall balance mysteriously drops - sometimes by thousands of dollars - at the time of the switch. They say it is because they are 48 hours late in updating the balance, but that explanation cannot account for two cases where I lost more than $1500 despite all my investment choices appreciating in value during the 48 hours before the switch.
Whenever I ask for an explanation of their accounting practices, the response is incredibly smug and completely uninformative. I have lost too much money with them and I can't trust them with it any longer.
My experiences with HostPlus have been much more positive and many of their investment options (e.g. Australian infrastructure) are just not available on Unisuper. The only downside is their website, which badly needs upgrading, but that is relatively unimportant.

I called UniSuper to ask if I could change from them to my super account I'd been with for the last ten years and was told I couldn't. The man I spoke to said that it was compulsory for my super to go into this account and that was the case with all uni staff. He said the uni was under no obligation to send my super elsewhere. According to him they didn't need to offer that option.

Been with UniSuper for close to 20 years on defined benefit and balance is just over $300k, never added any additional contributions. Was on the Balanced plan until about 4 years ago when went to a high-risk plan, then last year I paid them about $600 to do a thorough review of my investment strategy and suggest a custom plan which is now in place, it has similar returns but lower risk as my own attempts ended up over-exposing me to higher levels of risk for no extra return. They also reviewed insurance and made some recommendations but I didn't implement those. Nothing to complain about, fees seem reasonable and I'm happy with my current balance.

Unisuper for charged me Insurance Premiums for the last 6 months without my authorisation. The form to transfer from Defined Benefits to Accum 2 was so full of jargons, with a hidden message that says you will automatically pay for insurance premiums if you make this move. The process to opt out of insurance was made difficult by not allowing me to cancel over the phone. Instead I had to log into my account, but remember you can't just click 'cancel', you have to go through all the categories and tick the smallest of tick boxes. It was so simple for them to charge me insurance I didn't need but so hard to cancel something I never wanted.

After a longwinded attempt to determine WHY UniSuper insists on sending me a letter every fortnight when I make a personal contribution to my Super fund, and after my repeatedly asking them not to, or to give me the option to receive this electronically, I am told that it is something they have zero control over because of the computer system or software (or some lame nonsense) that has this automated snail mail generator in place. I have saved these letters and sent a complaint right to the top of the food chain and been told that this is part of their administrative process, and been told by others that they can't change anything until the system is overhauled. I've been getting the same story now for two years and nothing has changed. In fact, I stopped making contributions as I was sick of receiving the letters. This seems absolutely ludicrous. What else do UniSuper figure they have no control over?! And since it is the responsibility of my super fund to save me money AND make my money grow, I cannot begin to imagine how much it costs them to send each and every member a letter when they pay money into their super. When I mentioned this to one of the staff, they replied that it doesn't really cost that much. OMG. Are they serious? I have also had some strange experiences and been given inconsistent information when calling the customer service line, so I have little trust in this fund and will be considering moving to another fund as soon as I can.

I'm getting ready to move to a Personal/Pension retirement account, but based on UniSuper's fee table for High Growth, and my current balance, the thought of more than $5000 per annum in fees is alarming. I'm having to consider options other than UniSuper. The returns from High Growth have been reasonable; the sting is in the outrageously scaled up management fees when you move from Accumulation to Personal/Pension. Not sure if the Banking RC is going to look at this - hope they do.

I,m with them for 15 years, and over all those years returns were very small !! . As I, 64 so its a bit late to change my Super so i decided to keep it in ;cash 100%. Minute returns, but no more shrinking "feeling " .Not recommended to anybody.

Totally useless and inefficent administration, each time you ring you will get a different story.
Tried to withdraw funds being over 65, wow the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing.
Five phone calls to just get processed, each call they tell a different payment date, then blame bank, only to find still not processed in own office.
If you have a choice stay away from this fund

I was fortunate to work a casual job tutoring for my university, which enabled me to open a UniSuper account. The fund has low fees, great returns and an amazing website (just missing an iOS / Android app in my opinion). My rare phone dealings have always been polite and efficient.

I Definitely recommend UniSuper.

I’ve been with UniSuper for over 30 years and have found it to be a very good fund with low fees and great retirement options. I was initially in the defined benefit scheme but switched to the accumulation scheme when I left the higher education sector some years ago. The feedback in the form of newsletters, being able to log on and check your super and the ability to easily change your investment, such as from high growth to conservative are very useful. I have compared funds and can find no other I would rather be with.

I arrived in Australia in 1991 when compulsory super was being introduced. Unisuper has made it possible for me to secure a comfortable retirement. My advisers here in Adelaide were outstanding and very effecient. The key is to take an active interest in your own progress and to maximise savings within the parameters set by the law. Get a detailed financial plan done a few years before you retire. The plan should be reviewed each year until retirement, especially if there are legislative changes to be accommodated. Work towards a target amount and especially a monthly income that you can live with. One thing the plan requires is a detailed breakdown of your current expenses. This is very eye opening and a great discipline. My private accountant was so impressed with the returns and the service he asked if he could join Unisuper.

You think that when dealing with people's super, they would take particular care in diversifying and avoiding the effects of market crashes. But no. The market sinks = unisuper sinks. A 20 yo would do better. Yet I was forced into this garbage fund because there is no possibility to opt out when you are an academic. That's Australia for you. Absolute rubbish.

Unisuper hasn't made my life easy! I am set up in a defined benefit arrangement, but only realised what it was after my trail period and am now stuck in a product I don't want. I can't leave Unisuper because they are written into my EBA. I believe the way they develop their products and terms and conditions is deceitful.

I've visited them 2 times and have contacted Unisuper on the phone once to do the simple stage of filling the application form. They were no helpful at all; didn't answer the questions clearly. I've asked similar questions from 2 senior consultants of UniSuper, each hide sth information or simply didn't mention it. I can't trust them and although I'll loose 17% super I prefer to stay with my previous super with 9.5% rather than rolling over to with Unisuper.

What I can't understand is that why universities are supporting UniSuper while there are so many complains about their performance. I can't get my 17% super with any other superannuation providers except UniSuper. This makes me angry that what sort of promotion uni gives to me!

Switched my defined benefits to accumulation without seeking my consent and informing me - now denying all liability - I'm reporting you to ASIC and suing you. See you in court! You'll have to pay in the end, I guarantee you that.