Our outputs
Superannuation
The Government Superannuation Office is responsible for delivering the superannuation output. This includes providing advice, products, services and administration of legislation relating to the management of superannuation for Queensland Public Sector employees. The Government Superannuation Office administers the State Public Sector Superannuation Fund (QSuper), the Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Fund and the pension entitlements of judges. This output reports on managing the State's superannuation investments and reserves through QSuper and assisting members in financing their future by providing financial security for retirement.
Vision and mission
As a leading Australian superannuation fund, QSuper will be recognised for our contribution to the quality of each member's life through low fees, real service, better knowledge and solid returns.
Structure
Under Treasurer Gerard Bradley
- Government Superannuation Office
- Chief Executive Officer Rosemary Vilgan
- Chief Strategy Officer Alex Beavers
- General Manager, Marketing and Development Michael Irving
- General Manager, Superannuation Policy Lyn Melcer
- General Manager, Investment Services Sonya Sawtell
- Chief Operating Officer Don Kofoed
- General Manager, Member Services Anne Murchison
- General Manager, Operations David Wood
- General Manager, Insurance Management Barry Cook
- Chief Financial Officer Cliff Kaye
- General Manager, Business Solutions and Technology Phil Charge
- General Manager, Finance Peter Lockington
- Manager, Human Resources and Administration, Donna Wright
- Chief Strategy Officer Alex Beavers
- Chief Executive Officer Rosemary Vilgan
Output performance highlights
| Measures | Target | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Quantity | ||
| Percentage of members who elect to retain their voluntary monies with QSuper | 70% | 69% |
| Quality | ||
| Satisfaction of stakeholders with the delivery of products and services | 93% | 95% |
| Percentage of external audits resulting in no qualifications | 100% | 100% |
| Timeliness | ||
| Meeting the performance benchmarks contained in the QSuper Boar of Trustees' Administration Mandate and other agreements in place for the administration of funds other than QSuper | 95% | 96% |
| Cost | ||
| Administration costs per member are within the lowest quartile when benchmarked to peers | 100% | 100% |
Highlights
| Strategic business priority | Highlights | The year ahead |
|---|---|---|
Provide members with information guidance tools and advice to equip them to make informed decisions about their future needs. |
Awarded a national communications award for QSuper's annual report to members, Super Scoop. Piloted a 'super month' series of seminars in Brisbane in March 2005, which was attended by over 3,000 members Developed "low fees, real service, better knowledge and solid returns" as QSuper's product attributes. |
Introduce an education module to the QSuper website. |
Develop an enhanced understanding of members' and employers' actions and needs through dedicated research, data and behavioural analysis. |
Completed market research of QSuper products, member retention, branding and member services. Segmented communication material to meet members' financial lifestyle needs. |
Continue to build on our internal and external market research to enhance products and services, improve member retention and increase funds under management. |
| Build systems solutions to deliver cost-effective products and services to members and employers. | Launched the redeveloped QSuper website. Recorded over 560,000 visits to the QSuper website and 24,697 member registrations for online access to their accounts. Adopted a information technology service management framework to ensure a reliable high level of performance to business units who have direct member contact. |
Continue to redevelop the website to make it more member-focussed and innovative. |
Ensure investment performance is commensurate with the performance of the general markets and agreed targets. |
Introduced four new investment options. Funds under management grew to $15 billion. QSuper's Accumulation account - Balanced Option, ranked as the second best performing of its type Australian fund. |
Review investment strategy of superannuation funds to continue delivering the best possible outcomes for members, and to build on the strong returns achieved in 2004-05. |
Visits to QSuper website
Analysis: We received 560,000 hits, an increase of more than 100,000 since 2003-2004. We will enhance our processes during 2005-06 to make online registering even easier for members.
Key issues facing the output
- A greater demand from members for information, education, and advice, and the challenge of meeting and delivering this cost effectively.
- Retaining members who are no longer employed and could leave QSuper, especially with the higher levels of competition within the industry.
- The need to meet the increased expectations of members for greater choice, simplicity, and range of products.
- The impact of external environmental factors such as greater choice for members, transparency, and complexity of the market.
Strategic business priorities
Strategic business priority - Provide members with information guidance tools and advice to equip them to make informed decisions about their future needs.
-
Enhanced communication with QSuper members
We have enhanced our communications with QSuper members to ensure they are receiving the relevant information at the critical points in their superannuation life to help them make decisions that are right for them. The communications upgrade includes a new corporate identity across all communications, including publications and letters, to ensure a consistent message is delivered to members.
-
Educated members about superannuation
Five hundred and forty-five seminars were conducted in 60 centres State-wide, and were attended by nearly 21,000 members. A 'super month' scheme was piloted in Brisbane in March 2005 where a range of seminars was presented in a location central to many employers, with concentrated marketing in the surrounding areas. Over 3,000 members attended a seminar. We will roll out the 'super month' concept in regional areas during 2005-06.
We will continue to emphasise the importance of communicating with and educating members with the introduction of a range of educational tours called Qlearn in 2005-06. The six tours and 14 tools are designed to improve members' general financial education and help them make informed financial decisions.
-
Received awards for our service and communication
For the third year in a row, our annual report to members, Super Scoop, received a national communications award from the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia. In addition, the QSuper Contact Centre had four finalists in the 2005 Queensland Contact Centre awards, and received the Team Leader of the year award.
Strategic business priority - Develop an enhanced understanding of members' and employers' actions and needs through dedicated research, data and behavioural analysis.
-
Completed market research to deliver enhanced services
During 2004-05 we undertook research in a number of areas to develop an enhanced understanding of members' and employers' actions and needs. Research areas included: brand satisfaction and loyalty, awareness of QSuper against other brands in the market and customer retention. The results of the research were positive and provided evidence that members felt a strong loyalty to QSuper, held a positive brand image and saw it as a stable and trustworthy brand.
These insights will drive strategic initiatives in 2005-06, such as enhancements to member services, communications materials and programs to increase member retention. Further research will be conducted in 2005-06 to investigate member and employer satisfaction with QSuper products and services, and member perceptions of the extensive QSuper seminar program.
-
Tailored communication to members' needs
In response to research identifying the need to better tailor communications to meet members' needs, we began segmenting our main communication products. In 2004-05, we created two versions of our annual report to members, Super Scoop, and our member newsletter, Financing your future. As members' information needs change as they get nearer to retirement, one version is for members aged over 50 and one is for members aged under 50.
Strategic business priority - Build systems solutions to deliver cost-effective products and services to members and employers.
-
Enhanced our internet services
The redeveloped QSuper website was launched in January 2005 and it incorporates many suggestions from QSuper members. The new website is simple to navigate, has user-friendly menus, and contains a great range of tools including calculators, forms, and publications to help members plan their financial future. We will continue to make enhancements to the website in 2005-06 to ensure our members have an innovative, accessible and informative education source.
Continued promotion of online account access led to almost 25,000 members registering over the 12 months, a figure more than double that of 2003-2004. This flowed-on to the increased use of our website, with 560,000 hits, an increase of more than 100,000 from 2003-2004. We will enhance our processes during 2005-06 to make online registering even easier for members.
Strategic business priority - Ensure investment performance is commensurate with the performance of the general markets and agreed targets.
-
Smart investment choices - strong investment returns
Investment returns continued to perform strongly throughout 2004-2005, with total funds (including Queensland Government superannuation reserves within Treasury) growing from $25.83 billion to $31.27 billion. In June 2005, QSuper celebrated its 15th birthday with $15 billion in funds under management.
QSuper funds under management 2001-05 Date Funds under management 30 June 2001 $7.35 billion 30 June 2002 $8.18 billion 30 June 2003 $8.50 billion 30 June 2004 $13.06 billion 30 June 2005 $15.99 billion QSuper's Accumulation account - Balanced Option, was ranked as the second-top-performing Australian fund of the year in the SuperRatings performance survey for 2004-05. SuperRatings reported QSuper's crediting rate as 15.38 per cent against the industry median of 13.2 per cent.
Our investment strategies reflect the ongoing needs of our members. To provide members with greater investment choice, in 2004-05 we introduced four new investment options: Socially Responsible, Fixed Interest, Australian Shares, and International Shares. We now have investment options to suit the investment needs of all members.
