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| News and information for participating universities from the trustee |
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| [firstname,fallback=] [lastname,fallback=] |
| <<Organisation>> |
| Kia ora |
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| Delivering benefits for universities and staff |
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| As part of our strategic planning, we have spent time developing purpose, vision, mission and values statements. These statements are largely internally focused and designed to help guide our work and set priorities. However, as sponsors of the scheme, we thought it might be useful to share our thinking. We see our purpose as twofold – to help staff provide for their long-term security and to provide a worthwhile benefit that helps universities recruit and retain staff. Our vision is for UniSaver to be seen as the natural choice for university staff. Our mission revolves around providing prudent stewardship of a well-designed scheme, offering value for money and building financial capability. In doing so, we value inclusivity, integrity and excellence. Please take time to read the full statements, which are set out in our Board charter. |
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| Improving financial wellbeing and resilience |
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| Our mission is very much consistent with the National Strategy for Financial Capability launched recently by the Office of the Retirement Commissioner. The strategy provides a framework for community, government and industry partners to work together to help New Zealanders grow their money, build financial resilience and lift their financial capability. The strategy identifies Māori, Pacific peoples, women and younger people as priority audiences. It includes initiatives to improve financial capability among these groups that we plan to tap into. |
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| Māori, Pacific peoples and younger staff less likely to join UniSaver |
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| Earlier this year, we analysed data supplied by the universities to see what insights we could gain about
participation in UniSaver among eligible staff. We found that length of service is a far greater predictor
of participation than salary. Participation among younger staff is low (around 20% of staff aged 20–29).
Māori and Pacific peoples are also underrepresented. We know from previous surveys that only about
half of eligible staff are members of UniSaver and that a significant portion choose to contribute to
KiwiSaver only, despite the greater employer subsidy offered by UniSaver. We are keen to work with
the universities to improve these numbers with a goal of making sure all staff are receiving their full
entitlement of employer and government contributions. |
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| Members generally satisfied with the scheme |
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| In the middle of the year, we commissioned our first member survey in some years. Around 20% of
members responded. Two-thirds of those indicated that they are at least reasonably satisfied with the
scheme, with higher rates of satisfaction among long-serving members. Most of the issues raised by the
much smaller percentage of dissatisfied members (around 5%) were already on our radar with initiatives
under way to address them. The main concerns are discussed below. |
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| Focus on peer-relative performance |
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| Responses to our survey indicate that around 60% of members are at least reasonably satisfied with
returns. This is on par with satisfaction with returns from KiwiSaver for members who belong to both
schemes. However, peer-relative performance is top of mind for some members who are keen to see
UniSaver lift its game. We measure performance in two ways. First, we measure against objectives we
set to achieve a certain return over and above the rate of inflation for each investment option. These
objectives have largely been met over 1-year and 10-year periods. The intervening periods (3 years and
5 years) have seen significant underperformance largely due to a period of very high inflation. Second,
we aim to sit consistently in the second quartile for net returns measured against peers, including
KiwiSaver. To this end, performance against KiwiSaver peers over longer periods (5 and 10 years) is
currently above or on par with the KiwiSaver median. We recognise these results are solid but not stellar
and will continue to work on improving performance. As you will appreciate, fees play a significant role in
overall returns. We have negotiated a material reduction in investment management fees, which will take
effect on 1 January 2025. We expect the lower fees to have a material positive impact on returns as we
continue to leverage our not-for-profit status to keep costs low. |
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| New lower carbon investment option to be launched in May |
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| Some members don’t think we’re doing enough in the area of responsible investment, particularly in
relation to climate change. UniSaver investment options already have a reduced exposure to carbon
and an increased exposure to renewables relative to benchmark due to an allocation to the Russell
Investments Sustainable Global Shares Fund (read more here). We plan to introduce a new investment
option on 1 May 2025 that takes this a step further. The new option – called Growth (Lower Carbon)
– will be invested 80% in an equity fund that, relative to the fund index, targets a reduction in carbon
exposure, an increase in exposure to renewable energy and the exclusion of companies with fossil fuel
reserves or a significant involvement in fossil fuel activities. The remaining 20% will be invested in global
bonds. Before committing to the new fund, we canvassed members to gauge the likely uptake. While
relatively few members responded (less than 2%), the dollar value of the funds of those members who
indicated a willingness to switch to the new option (in excess of $30 million) is more than enough to
seed the fund. Read more about the new option. |
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| Members seeking personalised financial advice |
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| One thing that came through clearly in the survey comments is that members would appreciate
more help with saving for and managing their money in retirement, including one-on-one advice.
The Mary Holm sessions have been popular and we hope have contributed to members’ knowledge
and confidence in managing their investments and planning for retirement. However, we have noted
the interest in individual advice and additional tools and resources and will consider this as part of
our strategic planning. |
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| New login process on its way |
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| Some members are frustrated by our limited digital presence. We are restricted as to what we can do in
this space as we rely on our administrator Mercer to provide online account services. We will continue
to press Mercer to develop an app, which is becoming increasingly standard among financial service
providers. We are pleased to report that one long-standing source of frustration will be addressed early
in the new year with the introduction of a new login process. At the moment, members log in using their
membership number and a PIN set by Mercer. Around 10% of helpline calls are from members needing
to reset their PIN. The new login combines an email address and password set by the user. |
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| New online application form |
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| We launched a new online application form in November that we hope will make joining easier.
It simplifies the process by including information relevant to the user based on their responses.
For example, if they select that their role is permanent, their version of the form will skip the options
for fixed-term staff. We received feedback in the survey that members find our forms overly long and
complex. To an extent, this is the nature of the beast. For example, as a complying superannuation
fund, our withdrawal forms are required to include a statutory declaration relating to periods of overseas
residency before members can withdraw government contributions. However, we plan to create more
online forms that make interacting with the scheme more straightforward. |
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| Some UniSaver numbers |
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| At 30 September 2024: |
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12,704 members, including: |
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8,045 locked section members (63%) |
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2,155 retained members (17%) |
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$1,654 million funds under management, including: |
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$923 million in Balanced (56%) |
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