Information for financial planners

If your clients are active Triple S Scheme members (including Super SA Select members) under the age of 65, they may be eligible for Income Protection benefits.

Casual employees do not automatically receive Income protection cover but can apply.

To learn more about cover that may be available to them, read the Income Protection page here.

The majority of Triple S members are provided with three default units¹ of Standard Death and Total & Permanent Disablement (TPD) Insurance until the age of 70.

Being a combined cover, this means it isn’t possible for members to elect to have Death only (or TPD only) insurance.

Standard units buy a level of cover that decreases with age.

Members are able to increase their cover by applying for additional standard units or switch to the Fixed Benefit insurance option.

With Fixed Benefit insurance, members are able to purchase a fixed level of cover that will remain the same until they reach the age of 70. The premiums for this cover increase each year.

For more information, refer to Death & TPD and Death Only Insurance fact sheet available here, Also, view the pages below.

As Triple S is an untaxed scheme, members are not able to claim a tax deduction on after-tax contributions.

As an alternative, they are able to use either Super SA Select or Super SA Flexible Rollover Plan (FRP) to claim after-tax contributions as these are taxed funds.

For more information about these taxed schemes, refer to:

If you’re in need of detailed information in regard to nominating a beneficiary, we recommend that you look at the Product Disclosure Statement for your client’s specific scheme.

In the Triple S Scheme death benefits are normally payable to the member’s spouse or putative spouse following death. Members cannot nominate a beneficiary but can nominate a legal personal representative (estate) to receive the benefit on their death.

The legal personal representative is the person appointed as the executor or administrator of their estate, following their death.

By nominating a legal personal representative, the member's death benefit will be paid to their estate, rather than directly to their spouse, and distributed according to their Will and  Statutes. Legal personal representative nominations are valid for 3 years, at which time they can be renewed or they will cease to be valid.

If a member does not have a valid legal personal representative nomination in place with Super SA at the time of their death, their superannuation entitlement and any insurance component will be paid to their spouse or, if they have no spouse, to their estate.

A member should ensure that their Will reflects their wishes regarding the distribution of their estate.

The rules can be different for each of our schemes. Please refer to the relevant Product Disclosure Statements for more information.

Most Triple S members (including new South Australian Government employees) are eligible for Fund Selection by requesting the South Australian Government's Fund Selection Notice form (not the standard choice form available through the ATO) from their employer.

Those expressly excluded are:

• members of other government schemes, who are solely members of Triple S for the purpose of salary sacrifice or government co-contribution payments.
• members receiving 3% contributions as a result of the previous Public Sector Employee Superannuation Scheme (PSESS) entitlement.
• members of other government schemes who become members of Triple S to ensure the government satisfies the requirements of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (eg Lump Sum Scheme contributors who have reduced their contributions to zero).

Special arrangements apply to SA Police Officers, SA Ambulance Operational staff and SA Ambulance staff who transferred into Triple S from the SA Ambulance Service Superannuation Scheme under age 60. These employees may make only a Fund Selection between Triple S and Super SA Select.

For more information, refer to the Triple S PDS and Super SA Select PDS.

Once every 12 months. Employers are not required to accept a request for a fund selection where an employee has made a fund selection within the last 12 months.

This rule does not apply if the selected fund is unable to accept contributions. In this case, the employer must provide the employee with a Fund Selection Notice within 28 days.

Yes. Eligible employees may make a fund selection back to Triple S, including if the original fund selection was made to Super SA Select.

From 30 November 2022, we will be providing a Limited Public Offer. This will give Triple S and Super SA Select members the ability to direct contributions from employers other than the South Australian Government to Super SA Select – our taxed fund.

Members wishing to direct their private contributions to Super SA Select must complete an application to join Super SA Select and provide their employer with a completed Pay my super into Super SA Select form. These forms will be available to download from 30 November 2022. 

From 30 November 2022, Triple S members will be able to receive a cash payment when they turn 65 – even if they are still working. This means their Triple S account will be assessable by Centrelink when they reach Age Pension age. This may have implications for members who until 30 November 2022 have had an exemption due to not having access to their Triple S benefits.

Super SA offers year-round webinars and seminars covering a range of topics to suit all members. You can direct your clients to Super SA’s website to register for any or all the sessions!

You can find the USI and ABN details on this page https://www.supersa.sa.gov.au/about-us/usi-and-abn-numbers/. Note that Income Stream does not have a USI as it is not SuperStream enabled.

Authorities are current for two years from when the member/client has signed the Third-Party Authority form unless the form specifically states a shorter period of time.

Most Triple S members are automatically provided with default Death and Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) insurance when they join Triple S or when they make a fund selection back to Triple S or Super SA Select (where the member does not already hold Death and TPD Insurance within Triple S).

A common question financial planners ask is whether the TPD insurance has an own-occupation or any-occupation definition. Our TPD definition is most aligned with an any-occupation definition. Please refer to the relevant PDS and Insurance Fact sheet to understand the definitions we use.

It is not possible to have TPD only cover.

Triple S spouse members can apply for Death only cover. They are not eligible for TPD insurance.

FRP Spouse investors under age 70 are eligible to apply for death only insurance. Death and TPD insurance or death only insurance is available to FRP investors under age 70.

For more information on our TPD definitions, refer to the Triple S Death and TPD and Death Only Insurance fact sheet, or the Flexible Rollover Product Insurance fact sheet.

Triple S PDS – Click Here

Flexible Rollover Product PDS – Click Here

Eligible members of Triple S receive three units of Standard cover (eligible Police and Ambulance members receive 6 units). Standard cover offers a fixed cost per week and a reducing level of cover which is linked to their age and gradually decreases after the age of 34. This is not the same as a ‘stepped’ or ‘level’ insurance policy because the level of cover reduces over time.

A member may elect to obtain Fixed Benefit Insurance which does not reduce as they age. The premium for will generally increase each year in line with their birthday.

Fixed Benefit Insurance is most closely aligned with the definition of Stepped insurance premiums.

Please refer to the relevant PDS and Insurance Fact sheets for more information.

No. The premiums are the same for all eligible members.

They can elect to continue their Death and TPD insurance by investing in the Flexible Rollover Product and making the required insurance election within 60 days of leaving employment.

There are no continuation options for Income Protection.

This is explained in the Triple S Income Protection Insurance fact sheet.

A member’s benefit is based on up to 75% of their Notional Salary, plus a 9.5% contribution (based on fortnightly IP benefit) to their Triple S account, known as a Contribution Replacement Benefit (CRB).

Please refer to the relevant PDS and Insurance Fact sheet for more information.

The default waiting period for IP insurance is 30 calendar days. A member can elect to change their waiting period option from 30 to 90 days.

Yes. The member’s notional salary will be adjusted six monthly, commencing on 1 April and 1 October each year in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) All Ordinaries Adelaide.

It is most aligned to an Indemnity definition

Members who joined Triple S IP Insurance on or after 3 September 2018 will have their notional salary limited to an Automatic Acceptance Limit (AAL) of $122,000.

This means that if their actual salary is over $122,000 their IP Insurance premiums and benefits will be based on a salary of $122,000 and not their actual salary. There is a Maximum Salary Cap of $584,000 on the notional salary.

Members who have a salary over $122,000 and are subject to the AAL may apply to be covered for IP Insurance up to their actual salary (not exceeding the maximum cap) by completing a Personal Statement about their health.

Where an application to increase above the AAL is approved, limitations may be applied.

Members who joined Triple S before 3 September 2018 are not subject to AAL rules.

Triple S - $6,500 (For most Police Officers & SA Ambulance operational employees - $25,000)

Select - $6,500 (For most Police Officers & SA Ambulance operational employees - $25,000)

Flexible Rollover Plan – Generally the minimum balance to be retained is $6,500. Where a balance is less than $6,500 and an investor has not already made a partial withdrawal during the financial year and they wish to make a withdrawal, the investor must leave a balance of $1,500 after the withdrawal.

There are different requirements in place for Police and SA Ambulance members in Triple S. Please refer to the relevant PDS and Fact Sheets for more information.

No.

No, we do not offer any takeover terms on existing insurance. A member can apply for an increase in insurance, and it will be assessed based on their current medical history.

No, we do not pay any commissions.

No, there are no exit fees. For more information on the fees that apply, refer to the relevant Product Disclosure Statement and Reference Guides.

 

State government departments submit employer contributions fortnightly.

Before we can process a full rollover or withdrawal, we need a termination certificate which confirms the employment termination date, or, if they are casual, the date last worked, and when the final contribution will be or has been paid. We request this from Shared Services, and. We suggest you allow 4-6 weeks for the member’s request to be fully processed. This allows time for factors such as payroll to respond to Super SA with the information, wait for any final contributions to be sent and for Super SA to process and assess the request.

We do not need a termination certificate to complete partial payments (rollover or withdrawals) so there is the option of requesting a partial payment leaving the minimum balance and then withdrawing the minimum balance once the termination certificate is issued.