Welcome to the 21st edition of CEO Online

In this edition, I’ll bring you up to date with:

Investment performance

CSS Default Fund

From 1 July 2003 to 8 June 2007, the estimated performance (after adjustments for tax, fees and the reserve) is 65.70%. This translates to a daily compound exit rate of 0.035112% for exits from 13 June 2007.

CSS Cash Investment Option

From December 2004 to 8 June 2007, the estimated performance (after adjustments for tax, fees and the reserve) is 13.29%. This translates to a daily compound exit rate of 0.013568% for exits from 13 June 2007.
Remember that past performance is no indication of future performance. Returns are volatile and it is impossible to predict when they will go up or down.

If you are planning to retire or claim your deferred benefit in the next 12 months, please call us on 1300 000 277 for a detailed estimate of your benefit, and read about withdrawing your benefit in our Product Disclosure Statement.

Find out more about your Fund's investment performance

More equitable distribution of earnings

You may recall that in 2004 we changed the way we allocate earnings to members’ accounts. This was the first step in creating a more equitable distribution of earnings between members who claim their benefit during a period of negative earnings and those who stay.

Rule changes, passed by the Senate in September 2006, now enable us to embark on the next step which will involve:

We will send you a letter about these initiatives in June and you can find out more detailed information in our Fund allocation fact sheet.

We expect the process of allocating earnings to members’ accounts will start on 1 July 2007.

Find out about the background to more equitable distribution of earnings

Members give our At Work for You super education roadshow the thumbs up

This year we launched our super education roadshow and it has been a great success in helping members get more from their CSS super.

The roadshow is an extension of our At Work for You program which provides super education workshops at your place of work. The roadshow offers the same worthwhile information as our workplace workshops, but uses public venues around Australia.

Over 250 members have attended the public workshops this year. Here’s what some had to say:

Registrations are essential as places are limited.

Find out more about At Work for You and how to register

The deadline to provide your Tax File number is fast approaching

The Government’s simplified superannuation legislation, which comes into effect from 1 July 2007, requires all super funds to have members’ Tax File Numbers (TFNs) in order to accept after-tax contributions. I provided an update for members in the last edition of CEO Online.

Although it is not compulsory for you to provide us with your TFN, if we don’t have it by 1 July 2007, there could be a significant impact on your superannuation benefits because:

We will be sending you more detailed information on these changes in early June.

But you don’t have to wait until then. You can check if we have your TFN on record by looking at your most recent CSS Statement – if we have it, it will be shown there.

If it is not on your statement, you can provide your TFN by asking your employer to send it to us OR using the provision of tax file number form.

The 2007/08 Budget announcement

The Australian Government announced proposals in the 2007 Budget which will affect members of the CSS.
Full details are not yet available, however, once the necessary legislative and/or rule amendments are finalised we will make this information widely available to you.

In the meantime, we have posted a summary of the proposals for your information.

You can also find out more in a circular issued by the Department of Finance & Administration and a media release issued by the Minister for Finance and Administration