The Affiliation of Superannuation Practitioners (ASP) has started the full-scale implementation of its electronic rollover pilot program, which will reduce the time a fund member's money is out of the market from more than five days to under 48 hours.
"The solution enables ASP member organisations to transact superannuation rollover data and payments electronically, with more than 942 rollovers totalling $19 million processed since the pilot program's introduction in September this year," ASP said.
"The full-scale implementation of this solution will deliver considerable efficiency benefits to fund members and the industry by replacing the existing paper-based approach," the organisation said.
The program ties in with the government's SuperStream proposals. The ASP program allows member funds to streamline their existing back-end systems, resulting in fewer cheques and less paper in the system, leading to faster processing times and, ultimately, better service to members, the organisation said.
"When the ASP was formed in November 2010, we agreed our first priority was to design and deliver this pilot to provide better service to our fund members and to assist the Federal Government in its reforms," ASP spokesperson Nigel McCammon said.
"We are pleased to have achieved this milestone and will now move ahead with an expanded program that's expected to further improve the service we provide," he said.
ASP participants administer more than 55 per cent of superannuation accounts and transact more than 45 per cent of the total value of superannuation rollovers in the industry. They include organisations such as Colonial First State, Pillar Administration, MLC, BT, AMP and Super Partners.
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) welcomed the expansion of the program, saying it was a clear sign the industry was proactively responding to members' needs ahead of the reform process.
"What the implementation of this program means is that we're starting to see cross-sectoral cooperation across all moving parts of the super system, which is making our industry easier to do business with," ASFA chief executive Pauline Vamos said.
"The benefit for members here is that a competitive industry is working collectively so the super system provides a better experience to both employees and employers.
"Although many improvements will be delivered through the impending Stronger Super reforms, this is an excellent indication that the industry is already setting the wheels in motion to deliver better outcomes for super fund members," Vamos said.
