Club Plus nurtures its young with age-based defaults

Industry fund Club Plus Super has introduced age-based default investment options to ensure its members take advantage of their youth.

Any member joining the fund since January 1 2008 has been placed in one of three default options, based upon their age. New members under 30 will go into the high growth option with an 80/20 growth/defensive split; 31-45s will enter the 70/30 growth option, and members over 46 will default into the 60/40 balanced option. Prior to this year, all default members went automatically into the balanced option. The fund for club industry employees, the majority of Club Plus’ 148,000 members are under 30 years of age. Like many superannuation funds, around 90 per cent are currently in the default option. Paul Cahill, chief executive of Club Plus since November 12, 2007, said that under the advice of asset consultant Mercer, the fund had decided to become more active in making sure younger people were in an option that more accurately reflected their need for growth and ability to handle volatility. “You can try to educate younger people about the benefits of taking an interest in managing their super, but you will be running uphill,” he said. “We still believe in education, but we know that not all people will seek advice.” Unlike a lifecycle default, members will not be transferred from one option to another as they get older. “Forty-six seems to be the magic age when people start to get interested in their super,” Cahill said. “By that stage there is decent account balance, people begin to understand its importance, and are likely to use our attached advisors to tailor their own retirement plan.” Club Plus has 1.3 billion in funds under management.