Aon says MySuper pricing proposal may discriminate

Aon Corp. the risk manager, insurer and re-insurer, says if the regulator and government insist on imposing a single price for investing in a MySuper fund it will discriminate against older people.

“If the fund has to charge all members the same investment management fee then older members would be subsidising younger members in the more growth-oriented strategies,” says Janice Sengupta, Aon Hewitt’s chief investment officer, in a statement.

Aon wants the government to allow differential pricing for lifestyle-based MySuper products in order to reflect the different investment costs across asset classes.

The comments by Aon have come after the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority called for submissions to its paper on prudential standards for superannuation that included analysis of governance, risk and investment management as well as financial management.

Aon submitted its recommendations to APRA last month.

Sengupta says so-called higher-growth, actively managed funds charge about 90 basis points a year. Cahs and fixed income fund are “easily half that price,” she says.

“In a single price scenario how would that difference be handled?” asks Sengupta.

Bill Shorten, the Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation, says MySuper products will have a single investment strategy and a standard set of fees. From October 1, 2013, employers must make contributions to a fund offering a MySuper product for employees who have not chosen their own fund.

By July 1, 2017, funds will have to transfer their default balances to a MySuper product, Shorten says.

APRA, Aon says, should examine issues around succession planning, retention, diversity and training, Aon says.

“These are critical factors for the superannuation industry as it is struggling to get the talent it needs,” says Aon.