By Chris Carlin, from Glasshouse Wealth
When people talk about choosing a superannuation fund, the conversation almost always centres on two things: fees and investment returns. Both are important, but they aren’t the first things I look at.
I look at service.
Good service means being able to access your money, process claims and complete paperwork when life throws you the unexpected. It’s easy to overlook until you actually need it.
In just the past few weeks, I’ve seen one fund make an unexpected death benefit claim unnecessarily difficult for a widow, with mountains of paperwork, repeated requests for certified documents and an administrative process that added stress at an already heartbreaking time. Safeguards are important, but unnecessary complexity helps no one.
In another case, a simple third-party authority (which allows a financial adviser to ask questions about a client’s account) has still not been processed after four weeks. Most funds complete the same request within three to five business days.
This is particularly disappointing given the same fund was fined $23.5 million in November 2025 for “serious failures and unreasonable delays in processing insurance claims”.
I’ve also dealt with a fund that insisted on original posted documents and certified identification for a straightforward transaction, while many others now accept secure digital signatures. When your client lives in Perth (I service clients across Australia), those delays quickly become frustrating and a simple transaction took nearly three months to action.
None of these issues affect investment returns, yet they have a real impact on people’s lives.
When fees and long-term performance are broadly comparable, service should absolutely form part of the decision. Because when you need your super the most, the last thing you want is unnecessary delays.
My job as your financial adviser is to make your life as easy as possible both now and into the future, especially when you need it the most. Hence service is a major driving factor of any superannuation and investment platform choice.
You need to measure your super fund not only by what they earn for members, but also by how well they look after them. Returns don’t mean much if nobody answers the phone…