Since 1981, Australian Catholic Superannuation has helped people who work in Catholic education, healthcare, aged care and welfare plan for their future by providing excellent superannuation, insurance, retirement planning and financial planning services. They support more than 90,000 members and over 13,000 contributing employers with more than $9.4 billion in funds under management. Australian Catholic Superannuation is self-administered, meaning the administration of all contributions and benefit payments are handled internally focussing on delivering member outcomes and excellence in customer service. Guided by the values they share with their members; they provide a superannuation service that focuses on providing excellent retirement planning outcomes. They’re the super fund of choice for the Catholic sector, and as a public offer fund, they are open to anyone who is eligible for super. Australian Catholic Superannuation’s mission is to provide members with appropriate superannuation benefits, which make a positive contribution to their retirement strategies and goals. To achieve this, they keep fees low, invest responsibly and offer members access to additional benefits through their partner network.

Australian Catholic Superannuation have three different advice offerings. General advice provides customers information on super, insurance, investments and pensions. This service doesn’t consider personal circumstances. Their over-the-phone personal advice is a single-issue service that provides answers to questions about growing super – including salary sacrifice and managing investments – and reviewing insurance requirements. Lastly, they offer face-to-face personal advice which is a comprehensive advice service that helps create a strategy to assist members in achieving a variety of financial goals. Australian Catholic Superannuation offer plans that are appropriate at every stage of life.

Australian Catholic Superannuation also offer their members three pension products, depending on their needs and retirement goals. RetireSmart aims to provide strong returns through use of a pre-set investment strategy, generates a consistent stream of retirement income. RetireChoice allows members greater control of their investments even as the member is accessing their balance in retirement. Transition to retirement pension is also accessible to members who want to access their retirement savings but aren’t ready to fully retire. This enables members to be able to use some of their super through a transition to retirement pension.

Australian Catholic Superannuation onboarding of new members leverages the power of Salesforce Marketing Cloud, complemented by a human touch point from the call centre. Previously, all onboarding was done via mail with a hefty package sent to every new member that included a range of forms, insurance information and other fund information. The new onboarding leverages a sophisticated marketing journey that uses member data to provide relevant information to a member over a three-month period. Additionally, the customer service centre also assisted with every member receiving a welcome call, reinforcing the high level of personalised service the Fund offers. The onboarding looks to strengthen the Fund’s brand, but more importantly ensure their members have the relevant information they need to take the necessary actions to ensure they have the best retirement outcome possible. Finally, as a Fund that is 75% female, it is vital that we encourage members to put more money in earlier. Women retire with less, due to the gender pay gap and broken work patterns, and ensuring they maximise their super throughout their career is important to ensure financial security later in life. This initiative starts this way of thinking early and looks to create habits that will continue throughout their lives.

There are two separate “journeys” activated in this initiative. One is a brand-new member, and one is for a member who is returning to the Fund. The key goal was to make joining the Fund simpler. However, additionally they wanted to achieve better financial outcomes (increase contributions) and ensure members had simple access to everything they need. As a business, they have access to a variety of member information and leveraging this to deliver better outcomes is vital. Their new onboarding creates a better experience for members and enables better outcomes into the future. Australian Catholic Superannuation’s internal research conducted by their Business Intelligence team highlighted a number of engagement points that are critical within the first 12 months. Previously, they have simply sent out a new member pack and left decisions to members. The complex nature of superannuation can cause confusion leading to inaction, and the company believed members deserve a more detailed and personalised experience. By taking what the company knew of their old process and leveraging access to technology, they were able to design a simpler, more streamlined strategy. Australian Catholic Superannuation were able to carefully plan how they wanted to communicate with members and utilise data to ensure their communications were both personal and useful.