First State Super

First State Super is a not-for-profit Australian superannuation fund. It was initially established in 1992 to provide superannuation benefits to New South Wales government employees, but is now open to anyone eligible to receive superannuation. It is one of Australia's largest superannuation funds, with more than $90 billion (as at 31-January-2019) in funds under management and over 800,000 members.[2][3]

First State Super (FSS)

Industry	Superannuation
Founded	1992
Headquarters	Australia
Key people	CEO:Deanne Stewart [1]
Website	www.firststatesuper.com.au

As a not-for-profit fund all profits are returned to members, rather than being for the benefit of shareholders. This has meant that First State Super has been able to keep their fees low over time.[4]

Ratings

The fund won Money Magazine Best of the Best 2012 Lowest-Cost Super Fund from 2007 to 2012 and Lowest-Cost Pension Fund from 2009 to 2012.[5] Other research houses have awarded First State Super their highest possible ratings.[6]

• Rainmaker 7 Year Platinum Performance for the Employer Sponsored Division (2005–2012)

• Rainmaker 5-year Platinum Performance for Personal Super Division (2007–2012)

• Rainmaker Platinum rating for the Pension Division (2012)

• Chant West 5 apples rating for Personal Super Division (2012)

• Chant West 5 apples rating for Pension Division (2012)

• SelectingSuper AAA rating for the fund

Becoming public offer

First State Super became a public offer fund on 1 May 2006, opening up membership to anyone eligible to receive superannuation benefits. This was in response to feedback from existing members who were keen to remain with the fund when they changed jobs and moved from the public to the private sector. The change meant First State Super became included in comparisons of performance, fees and other features with other funds.[7]

Merge with Health Super

In July 2012, First State Super merged with Health Super, a not‐for‐profit superannuation fund for workers in the health and community services sector. At the time the merge meant the combined entity was the third largest superannuation fund in Australia.[8]

Controversy

In September/October 2011, a security vulnerability in First State Super's system was discovered by a customer. First State Super received considerable negative publicity nationally and internationally,[9][10][11] both for the severity of and ease of compromise of the exploit, and also for the actions and public relations that occurred in the aftermath of the notification.[12][13][14]

The Federal Privacy Commissioner investigated the event.[15] On 7 June 2012, the Privacy Commissioner found that at the time of the incident, First State Super was in breach of National Privacy Principal 4.1. As a result of First State Super and Pillar's immediate action, the Commissioner ceased the investigation and closed his file on the matter on the basis that the response to the incident was adequate in the circumstances.[16][17] [18]

References

1. People Executives – First State Super
2. Superannuation Scheme Offered By First State Super
3. First State Super-History
4. "Selecting Super Best fee deals across all Superannuation funds". Archived from the original on 30 November 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
5. "Money Magazine Best of the Best 2012". Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
6. "Award winning fund – First State Super". Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
7. Sydney Morning Herald April 29, 2006
8. Financial Standard June 30, 2011
9. iTWire – First State Super
10. Troy Hunt: Open letter to First State Super re responsible security disclosure
11. Security Researcher Threatened With Vulnerability Repair Bill – Slashdot
12. First State Super Security Breach Exposes Members' Accounts
13. Super sloppy: First State customers kept in the dark
14. Claims First State Super flaw ignored for 'years'
15. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
16. http://www.oaic.gov.au/news-and-events/media-releases/privacy-media-releases/first-state-super-in-breach-of-privacy-act
17. http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/applying-privacy-law/privacy-omi-reports/first-state-super-trustee-corporation-own-motion-investigation-report
18. http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/applying-privacy-law/privacy-omi-reports/first-state-super-trustee-corporation-own-motion-investigation-report#conclusion

External links

• First State Super – Official Site