HESTA executive says super fund's operations 'normal', despite outrage from members and advocates
The super fund's chief operating officer Stephen Reilly acknowledged some members are struggling to access their money, but said it was not the case for most.
HESTA, one of Australia's largest superannuation funds, went offline at the start of April in a planned outage affecting more than 1 million Australians.
The industry super fund was changing its administration provider, which it said would provide a better outcome for members, and first notified customers in February.
Despite the fund returning online at the start of June, dozens of members have since contacted the ABC, distressed they still cannot access their money.
In an interview with The Business, Mr Reilly acknowledged delays in the contact centre and long wait times but said there was "no systemic issue".
"This is a case by case basis, most members are able to access whatever it is they need to do," he said.
"We've been able to process over $800 million worth of payments. We've got a quarter of a million people accessing online. These sorts of numbers tell us that the system is working.
"I do acknowledge we've had some members who've had some issues and those are case by case. I apologise to each and every one of those but we just have to work through them case by case."
While Mr Reilly offered assurances of no systemic issue, a HESTA spokesperson later confirmed that the changeover to a new administrator had led to problems with some members receiving their super contributions.
HESTA member Carol Varenhout contacted ABC News after failing to get onto the fund about missing contributions in her account.
Ms Varenhout has been salary sacrificing part of her pay into her retirement savings each fortnight — something she has been doing for years.
Records showed the money should have been processed into her super account, but when she emailed HESTA, she got no response and after waiting on hold on the phone, she hung up.
In response to questions about Ms Varenhout's missing contributions, a HESTA spokesperson said that in a "small number of cases", super contributions had been misdirected to the fund's old administrator, attributing the problem to third parties.
"Prior to the transition we had informed employers of our administrator's new banking details. Some employers use remittance agencies to handle payment of super contributions," the HESTA spokesperson said.
"In a small number of cases, these banking details were not updated by an agency, with contributions paid into an account at our previous administrator.
"Our team has been working with employers, relevant agencies and our current and former administrators to ensure the use of current bank details, and to allocate these contributions.
The spokesperson said HESTA had reached out to Ms Varenhout to resolve her issue.
"They need to make full disclosure for why this is happening and how widespread it is," Ms Varenhout said.
Dozens of Australians have contacted the ABC since the start of the planned outage, distressed and concerned about when they will receive their funds, with many feeling financial and emotional hardship.
Super Consumers Australia chief executive Xavier O'Halloran has described HESTA's response to the outage as "appalling".
Helen Triggell has been waiting on her money from HESTA for more than two months, after putting in a withdrawal application at the start of May.
"I've understood there's a lot of people waiting, but now that time's gone by, I'm starting to panic … because I would have liked this [to be] done with."
The aged care worker from Bega, NSW applied for a lump sum of her retirement savings to finalise her mortgage.
Despite contacting HESTA several times, the super fund did not respond to her emails and after waiting on hold for long periods, she gave up.
"You put your trust in them and being with them all these years … it would be nice to hear from them to let me know how things are going and maybe when I will get it."
Ms Triggell said she is nearing retirement and was hoping to cut back a day of work as she starts this transition.
"I was hoping to have dropped a day by now but it looks like it's not going to happen until I get my money," she said.
A HESTA spokesperson said the fund would contact Ms Triggell to resolve her issue, after ABC News made it aware of her case.
In response to questions about the HESTA planned outage and the ongoing issues facing some members, Financial Services Minister Daniel Mulino said "it is crucial that superannuation members have appropriate access to funds and services".
"I would expect the relevant regulators are looking closely at this matter.
"Improving service for members is important. While most funds offer services that meet or often surpass community expectations, there have been some areas where some funds have fallen short."
A spokesperson for corporate watchdog, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, has said "ASIC is aware of the situation and is considering its regulatory response".
Mr O'Halloran told ABC News he met with HESTA executives early this week, and was informed the super fund is still behind on processing claims.
"They indicated they think they're still another two weeks before they get out of the woods on this one," he said.
"They told us they've brought on another 50 staff for their customer service lines to help meet that resourcing gap.
Mr O'Halloran said multiple executives from HESTA have told him the super fund has struggled to meet the demand from its members.
"We know that they're under resourced and that they weren't able to pick up calls in timely ways, and they're still struggling with that today.
Mr O'Halloran said he has also spoken to multiple members of HESTA who have lost money through this process.
"People who have lost money as a result, waiting for property transactions to go through, had to get bridging finance in order to cover the cost because they can't draw down their money from their superannuation account."
He urged anyone in this position to contact the super fund and if the response is unsatisfactory, consider complaining to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
"We know that they are looking at those cases and considering whether compensation is appropriate — if you're not happy with the response you get, escalate it."
HESTA's Stephen Reilly told The Business there is a "complaints or compensation process that members can apply to and we'll work through those on a case by case basis".
You can watch the full interview with HESTA's chief operating officer Stephen Reilly on The Business tonight at 8:45pm AEST on ABC News or on iView.
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