Seven years later super fund illiquidity still an issue

The global financial crisis (GFC) and the consequent actions of superannuation funds holding illiquid investments are still having an impact.

A recent determination in the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT) has revealed that a husband and wife who had their account-based pension accounts frozen as a result of illiquidity issues in 2008 were still seeking to access the funds in 2015.

The case, dealt with in September last year, saw the SCT uphold the right of the superannuation fund not to release the members' funds on the basis that illiquidity remained an issue and that the members had been included in all subsequent redemption windows.

The SCT said that the trustee had explained that the accounts for both complainants were illiquid and that to pay them out would be to the detriment of other fund members.

Further, it said the trustee had also pointed out that the decision of suspending withdrawals from the fund was a decision of an external responsible entity (the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and was beyond the control of the trustee.

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The SCT found in favour of the superannuation fund trustee because it had kept the members informed and their for withdrawal were made at a time when "the APRA exemption was extant, and the trustee acted fairly and reasonably and within the terms of the exemption in rejecting the requests for complete transfer while continuing to release portions of the Fund that they deemed reasonable in all the circumstances".