Aware Super rolls out term deposit and indexed options

Aware Super has made four new low-cost indexed options available to its 1.1 million members. Two are for members in the retirement phase and the other two are for those members in the pension phase.



"As the superannuation market matures and Australians engage with their super sooner in their working lives and more actively than ever, more and more people are embracing low-cost indexed options that track share indices," Steve Travis, Aware Super's group executive, member growth, said.

"In bringing all our 1.1 million members onto a single administration and registry platform as part of our digital transformation, we've been able to tap into significant new benefits of scale and redesign our investment options from the ground up to cater for the demands of the modern market - including the growing demand for these indexed funds."



Aware Super has also made a term deposit option available to members so they can lock in a fixed rate of return while taking advantage of concessional tax settings in the super system.

The term deposits are for three, six, nine or 12 months at rates currently ranging from 4.85% to 5.25% per annum - all without the hassle of using an SMSF-style investment platform.



"Term deposits have been growing in popularity as interest rates have increased and, while they won't suit members who want all their super invested in growth assets, we know many people value the certainty of a fixed rate of return," Travis said.

"There's a very real risk that a significant group of Australians is saving for retirement in part outside the super system, using bank-issued term deposits to do so, and inadvertently missing out on [tax concession] benefits."