If you want to make a complaint you can’t make it as part of the call you have made for service support or assistance. A separate email needs to be sent. First state super then respond I cryptic emails that don’t help or address you’re circumstances. When you call to seek further advice staff refer you back to the email that is not clear. If I was to make an educated this happens because staff do not understand what has been sent out themselves. I would not recommend this super fund to any one based off service.

I opened a first state super account approx 10 years ago when i was unable to salary sacrifice to my SASS account .
After reading some of the reviews on this site about low returns and high fees i got my last 3 annual statements out 2016/2017 in growth fund the yearly fees $95.00..investment earnings aprox 12.3%........2017/2018 in growth fund yearly fees $109.00 rate of return 10.1%..............2018/2019 in growth fund fees $121.61 return 7.8% this is an average of over 10% P/A...so as far as the insurance side of things fortunately i have never needed to claim but as far as the fees and returns and the customer phone service which again i have only used 2 or 3 times i am happy with there performance.......

My only advice to anyone who has bothered to read this, is leave and leave ASAP.
I was with FSS for 9 years with very average returns and high fees. I left approx 1 year ago to a fund with lower fees and higher returns and its paying off big time. Examine the fees and the returns and you will be disappointed even with the 'high growth' option.
I am taking far less risk now and getting better returns than their high growth.

I've been with them for 16 years. I see they have no problem deducting their fees, but submit a TPD claim and try following up. Good luck!! I've been nothing but nice and screwed around from the start. They never answer the phone or reply to email. Promise to update and never call back. Not once.
I was going to say that maybe you have to actually die for something to happen, but i read a previous review and even that seems unlikely.
On a positive note, they are polite but it's at the stage where being nice is pointless.
I'm just going to ring them 10 times a day until they are as annoyed as me.
I hope they don't expect my business following this matter. FSS are no better than their bottom dwelling insurer.

My Lawyer first submitted an insurance claim to First State Super nearly 18 months ago. I understand that TAL (the insurer) will do virtually anything to delay, deny and dispute claims but First State Super provided no support at all and made no effort to progress the claim, which is still stalled. First State Super don't help, support or advocate for their members through this process at all. I don't know if other superannuation companies are any better but they couldn't be any worse. If you have insurance products with First State Super and you are in the unfortunate experience where you need to claim, you can expect similar treatment. This is why I changed my superannuation. I would advise you do the same.

Compared my super performance with the All Ords and it consistently does worse! What's the point of paying fees if their advisors can't even beat the All Ords Index!?

Their online platform is a whole other issue. In this digital age it is extrutiatingly painful to fill out forms for what should be self service.

It has been almost two weeks since I have requested to merge two of my accounts and I am still waiting to hear from First State Super to complete my request. I can imagine what will be kind of customer service I can expect when it can be something more serious. Luckily, It has not been long for me since my employers started my account & I think it is time I look for super with better service. I am sure they would look into my open request to investigate further, FYI it is ticket No: 157049.

Please people be aware that when you really need your insurance you will be in for a long wait, I am 14 months in and still no decision. Documents sent to wrong insurers, requests not actioned with myself having to call weekly to make sure the claim is progressing, 3 weeks to send a document from one insurer to another insurer. I have a lawyer but hasn't made a bit of difference. Im now facing eviction from my home because I can't pay my mortgage. No regulatory body to look at how fund handles claim until a decision is made seems wrong to me. Please if anyone else is in same position please email me. This is not fair and certainly not ethical.
[email protected]

I have been with this fund for 3 years and they continually charge fees until there is nothing left in my account. They are poorly investing money also as it has made little returns. I cancelled the un needed insurance and they started it back up again just because they could. Stay away and switch funds as soon as you can.

I've been in the income stream phase of my super since 2014. I have always taken the minimum amount out each month and although the sharemarket has had some instability over this time I note that I now have more money in my account now than when I first entered retirement. This was certainly not my expectation. I'm happy with their performance.

Very unhappy with performance to date. Paid all year only to be in the red at end of year. Very poor investment choices and NO accountability . Customer service very lackluster with the attitude of we have your money so too bad! Literally would have been better off putting my money under my mattress

I was with FSS for many years (approx. 15), paying also for Income Protection for over 10 years. I placed a claim as I had unfortunately fallen ill only to find that FSS refused to pay, leaving me struggling for the 2 years I was entitled for payment. They showed no concern that I was in hardship and had to use my super early to survive - leaving me now with no super.

It was a dreadful time as I was not only refused payment but also made to wait approximately 18 months whilst TAL and Metlife passed the claim from one to the other to assess. This experience was totally unexpected and extremely stressful.

What a poor performing Super Fund between June-Dec 2018. Thousands were contributed and made only $90 in 6 months. FSS is a joke and has not been performing well in recent times. I have no confidence in them anymore. They are losing MY money. Time to switch.

Extremely difficult to transfer my existing funds from first state super to my SMSF. Now trying for many months
They don’t seem to have any interest about the customers . They are following a complicated process that makes difficult for any existing customer to close their account. Not willing to explain any information they are requesting but keep on sending the same email . Customer representative who answers the phone calls don’t seem to have any understanding of the specific subject matter, no point calling them . So I have to say one has to be very careful before opening an account with them ( which is extreme easy and supportive ) because the exit is nearly impossible

Went into a FSS 'walk in office' to get advice on our imminent retirement. We were told they could not help us. They wanted to slough us off to their privately contracted financial advice service and charge us $2,000 per person approximately to provide retirement assistance. All we received were brick walls to our questions. We left with nothing but a brochure on retirement income streams. Thanks for nothing FSS. At the very least a superannuation company should provide free assistance to convert an accumulation fund to a pension fund. They provided us with absolutely no assistance. Shame on you!!!

I have been with this fund since retiring 10 years ago, initially in the Balanced portfolio but for the last 3 years I accepted the risk and switched to the more aggressive High Growth.
Despite drawing a regular income, I still have almost all of my initial capital in the fund. An excellent result! I could not have achieved this making my own investment decisions. The balance has fluctuated and become “scary” at times but trusting in First State has paid off.
Fees are reasonable and member’s on line access is excellent.
Any direct dealings have been trouble free. I make a point of providing exactly what is required (i.e. dot the I’s and cross the T’s) and have found the service to be excellent.
Richard

Member since 1972, always difficult to deal with, i have retired and eligible to withdraw MY money but there is always a problem despite complying with rules. Latest issue is I needed cash for car repairs, completed the form they sent me and other documents expecting the money to appear. But no they wait 10 days and send me an email saying the form is too old and demanding a new form along with another bank statement and I D documents. I will now be withddrawing all my money and put it in a bank. At least it wont go backwards there. Hopeless! Make the effort and transfer to a fund that looks after its members.

First State Super is my employers choice. I am planning for retirement and sacrificing as much salary as I can. First state Super is losing it for me. My colleagues are also losing money with this fund. Time to find a better fund.

I have found First State Super to be stuck in the past, beurecratic no customer service. They are not competitive and have a very antiquated way of doing business. They recently took a premium of over $400 out of my account with out my permission despite not having any insurance. I have contacted them on a number of times and could not even talk to a manager. I would definately look elsewhere when considering First State Super. They are fine if you dont have to contact them when they make a mistake they are very slow to fi
x it. I am still awaiting my refund.