AustralianSuper upgrade plagued by issues
AustralianSuper continues to be beset with technology issues that are limiting the ability of some customers to access their accounts, nearly two months after a system upgrade sparked ongoing issues at the nation’s largest superannuation fund.
The $258 billion fund, which has almost 3 million members, has been working on a rebuild of its online member portal and mobile app for several years, with the new digital platforms going live in mid-November.
However, the super fund has since been forced to apologise to members due to a number of issues with its digital services, including trouble logging into accounts and at least four unplanned outages.
Yet, several weeks after the launch some members are still struggling to log into their accounts.
Nigel Bean, a retired energy industry executive, has a “choice income” account with AustralianSuper and is still unable to log in online.
“I still fully believe that my money is there. But as time goes on, you really would like proof,” said the 62-year-old who is based on NSW’s Mid North Coast.
Bean said he didn’t think there had been adequate communication from the super trustee, with Facebook becoming his main source of updates given long wait times on the phone help line and the web chat. After weeks trying to get through, he received a call from the fund late last week.
“Sunlight is the best disinfectant. So if you’ve got a problem, get it out there. Tell people about it, telegraph that you are making progress,” he said.
“I feel stonewalled. I feel that there hasn’t been a level of truth and honesty, I do not believe that as a result there will be an appropriate level of accountability within the company.”
Others impacted by the tech issues are those who have chosen the Member Direct option at AustralianSuper, which is essentially a self-managed super account which allows members to actively manage their money.
Sydney self-employed financial advisor Greg, who did not want to use his surname, said most of his retirement savings were in a Member Direct account, which he used to be able to access through the super fund’s app.
However, he hasn’t been able to log in on his phone for weeks, instead receiving an error message.
“You had that flexibility with Member Direct, I could always pick the mobile phone up, and I could just act on my buy, sells, whenever I wanted to. And it worked fine. When they changed the app, all of a sudden that went, that accessibility,” he said.
Greg said he preferred to use his phone to do his personal finances rather than his work laptop. “My biggest frustration is that I haven’t been able to go in and do what I was told I would be able to do. I feel very disappointed at what used to be a business that I know provided good customer service.”
He said after struggling to get answers, he has started looking into other self-managed super funds.
In response to a series of questions, an AustralianSuper spokesman said “almost all” members are currently able to access and use the upgraded member portal and mobile app.
“We know that some issues have emerged that have impacted a small number of members. AustralianSuper apologises to affected members and is working to resolve the remaining issues as quickly as possible,” he said.
“For members affected, the fund has processes in place for them to access and transact on their account. We understand that this is frustrating for affected members and would like to reassure all members that their information and account is secure.”
The spokesman said the tech upgrade had led to an increase in member engagement. The fund would not say exactly how many members continued to be affected.
APRA has received a handful of complaints about the issues and has been engaging with AustralianSuper to understand the cause of the problems and what the fund is doing to rectify them.
During AustralianSuper’s annual members’ meeting on November 29, Shawn Blackmore, the fund’s head of member experience, said despite the “best of plans and thorough testing, a few issues emerged” following the digital upgrade.
This included login issues, which he said had been resolved, and four or five unplanned outages.
“Now, what I’d like to do is, on behalf of the fund, apologise to any members that were inconvenienced by this. We didn’t set out to have these issues but we’ve had a good team available 24/7, that when they’ve been identified, to be able to work and respond, to monitor and address the fixes where required, and we will continue to do that throughout the foreseeable future,” he said.
Regulators have been putting pressure on superannuation funds to improve their customer experience. An ASIC review of super trustees compliance with complaints handling released in December found that some trustees had sub-standard arrangements for managing complaints, putting the funds on notice to improve.
Article Credited to Simone Fox Koob @ The Sydney Morning Herald
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