Nearly 1.7 million Australians will see their insurance premiums jump by 40 per cent from June when AustralianSuper, the country’s largest pension fund, passes on price increases driven by a dramatic rise in mental health and disability claims from younger people unable to re-enter the workforce.
The unprecedented hike from the $410 billion retirement behemoth reverses three years of declining insurance costs for members. In an email this week explaining the move, AustralianSuper said it was only passing on “what it costs to provide your insurance”.
An earlier version of this article said the change would affect more than 3.6 million members. While AustralianSuper has more than 3.6 million members, only around 1.7 million are insured through the fund.