KW Insights | Stapled Super Fund Rules Introduced 1 Nov 2021

From 1 November 2021, employers will no longer be able to choose their default fund for employees who fail to nominate a superannuation fund at the commencement of their employment. As it currently stands, if an employee does not nominate a super fund in their super choice form, an employer may open a new default super fund in order to meet their superannuation guarantee charge obligations. This has led to the creation of multiple unintended superannuation accounts for an individual, which may result in duplicate or triplicate fees and premiums and a reduced overall nest egg upon their retirement.

From 1 November 2021, where an employee does not nominate a super fund in their super choice form, they will have one of their existing super funds ‘stapled’ to them. To find out what super fund is stapled to that individual, an employer will need to contact the ATO to request which super fund is stapled to that employee.  Therefore when their employment changes, their super fund stapled to them will be the super fund their new employer will use to meet their superannuation guarantee obligations.

To make sure you're ready to request stapled super fund details, check and update the access levels of your authorised representatives in ATO online services.

If an authorised representative doesn't:

·       have full access in ATO online services, they will need to have the 'Employee Commencement Form' permission in order to request a stapled super fund

·       need to access this service, you should remove this permission for them to protect your employees’ personal information.

For more information on this process or manage your ATO permissions as an authorised representative, please visit the website or contact your King & Whittle Adviser.