Frequently asked questions

You can find your member number on your member card (digital or hard copy), welcome letter or annual statement.

If you need help, call us on 1300 133 177.

ABN: 73 549 180 515
USI: 73549180515701

You may need to provide these numbers to your employer when you choose NGS as your super fund.

For BPAY® details, log in to Member Online, click the ‘person’ icon at the top of the screen, then select 'Personal Details'.

The answer to this question will vary depending on your own circumstances and risk tolerance. For instance, your investment timeframe (how long you plan to have your money invested in super) will impact how long your money has to grow (or recover from a market drop). You also need to consider how much risk you’re willing to tolerate – that is, to what extent will you be comfortable to see your account balance reduce during investment market downturns?

As a general rule, lower-risk investment options will produce lower returns (and smaller fluctuations in your account balance), and higher-risk investment options will provide higher returns (but potentially greater fluctuations in your account balance too).

You should consider your risk tolerance, investment time frame and your investment objectives (how much super do you need for a comfortable retirement?) when choosing your investment options. You can find more details on our investment options and their risk levels in our Investment Guide. If you’re unsure of your options, consider obtaining professional advice.

To change your investment options any time, at no cost, simply log in to Member Online to submit your investment switch request, or complete an Investment switching form and return it to us. If you’re unsure of which investment options are right for you, consider seeking advice.

When you open your first NGS Accumulation account and meet certain criteria, you will be provided with default insurance cover. Generally, you will need to either opt in to agree to receive Default Cover, or it will be provided to you automatically when you have reached at least age 25 and your account balance exceeds $6,000.

Default Cover is provided for Life, Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) and Income Protection (IP). Your level of cover and premiums will depend on your age and insurance category (a category based on the type of work you do). Premiums are deducted automatically from your NGS Accumulation account.

You can find out more about Default Cover in our Insurance Guide. For more information, you can also visit our Insurance and Changes to insurance pages.

Super is designed to provide you with funds for your retirement. As a result, the rules around accessing your super are generally structured to keep and accumulate your savings until that time. There are some circumstances outside of retirement in which you may be able to access your super. You can find the details on accessing your super here or in our fact sheet Gaining access to your super.

Once you’re eligible to access your super, the process time will depend on how you choose to receive it (i.e. via an income stream or lump sum). Ensuring that you’ve completed the necessary paperwork and identification requirements accurately will minimise any risk of process delays.

Fill out our Super choice form and give it to your employer — it will instruct them to send your contributions to your NGS Super account.

You have a few options when giving us proof of your identity — our checklist details your options to help you avoid unwanted delays on your requests.

Our Helpline team can provide this for you — we will generate and email this to you within two to three business days. Please call our Helpline on 1300 133 177 between 8.00am and 8.00pm (AEST/AEDT), Monday to Friday.

An electronic service address (ESA) is for a self-managed super fund (SMSF) only. As we’re an APRA-regulated fund (not an SMSF), we don’t have an ESA. If you’re trying to roll funds in or out of NGS Super, you can use the details provided here.

If you can’t find the answers or information you need on our website or Member Online, our friendly team are here to help.

You can:

• call our Helpline on 1300 133 177 between 8.00am and 8.00pm (AEST or AEDT), Monday to Friday, or
• fill out an Online enquiries form.

We also offer single-issue advice limited to your NGS Super account at no cost:

• over the phone through our Financial Advice Helpline, or
• through our Super Specialists who may be able to meet face-to-face.

Sorry, we don’t use email for enquiries.

Further, we offer low-cost tailored advice through NGS Financial Planning.

To make an appointment, phone us on 1300 133 177 or complete the Financial planning enquiry form.

NGS Financial Planners will always put your best interests first — they’re never paid commissions or bonuses and will only charge you where you’ve agreed in writing. As an NGS member, your first consultation is complimentary. All of our planners are Certified Financial Planners® — you can expect professional, trustworthy service and advice to suit your personal needs.

As an NGS member, your first consultation is complimentary. This appointment is all about us getting to know you — and you getting comfortable with the planner. If you choose to go ahead with obtaining personal advice, the cost of the advice will vary, depending on your situation and requirements.

You will receive our Financial Services Guide prior to the meeting, which tells you how, and how much, we charge for our services. All of our advice is provided on a fee-for-service basis, meaning there are no hidden costs. Your adviser will be able to give you a more precise costing once you’ve discussed your goals and needs.

Think of your initial meeting as the ‘kick-off’. It gives your planner the chance to get an idea of your current financial situation and what you’d like help with. We suggest you allow 1-1.5 hours for this meeting and bring along any relevant information (such as a payslip, outstanding loan amounts and assets you may own).

While you won’t receive any personal advice in this meeting, it doesn’t cost you anything. There’s also no obligation to continue through to receiving personal advice. If, however, you are keen to continue with the advice process, your planner will explain what they will consider and include in your advice. Your planner will provide you with a fee quote for the services (and you can choose to have this fee deducted from your super balance if the advice you receive is solely in relation to your super).

Then what?

Once you’ve agreed to receive personal advice, your planner will research and document their advice to you. This process usually takes 3-6 weeks, unless you need the advice urgently. Your planner will arrange a meeting with you to go through the advice together.

What do I get?

Personalised Financial Advice must be provided to you in writing. Your planner will set out their recommendations in a simple, logical Statement of Advice. This will outline key steps and, where relevant, will provide you with guidelines as to how your assets are likely to grow and/or how long your funds will last in retirement. Your planner will spend time with you to make sure you understand their recommendations. They can also help you put those plans in place.

Perhaps you would prefer to receive general advice or factual information. These can be provided to you free of cost.

If you are not sure what type of advice is best for you, chat to a team member on 1300 133 177 and they will help guide you to the right person.

To ask a question or arrange an appointment, simply complete our Financial planning enquiry form or contact our team on 1300 133 177.

If you don’t know your insurance category (Select, Plus or General), you can find it by logging in to Member Online and going to the Insurance section. Select the TAL Insurance Portal button where your current cover and your Insurance Category will display. Alternatively, contact us and we can let you know.

No. Benefits paid under an Income Protection claim are subject to a maximum of up to 90% (including up to 10% as super) of your pre-disability income (please see our Insurance guide for more information) reducing to 70% of your pre-disability income after age 65. This is based on gross income as Income Protection benefits generally form part of your taxable income.

If you choose to reduce your sum insured this will reduce the cost of your cover.

That will depend on your individual circumstances. The NGS Super Default Cover package is designed to provide you with a basic level of protection that changes automatically throughout your stages of life.

But life can change quickly — you may get married, get a salary increase, have a baby or buy a house. So from time to time you may want to adjust your level of cover.

Not sure by how much? Speak to one of our NGS Financial Planners or call our Helpline on 1300 133 177.

You can vary the level of your cover (up or down) at any time, subject to application approval.

You can apply to:

• increase your insurance cover
• change your Insurance Category
• change your insurance to fixed cover
• increase cover due to a Life Event (including a salary increase)
• 'transfer' cover from another provider (see 'Transferring your insurance cover' below).

You can also choose to:

• decrease or cancel your cover
• change your waiting period for Income Protection
• change your benefit payment period for Income Protection.

For example, if you chose to increase your benefit payment period from 2 years to 5 years, this would increase the cost of your cover, but your Income Protection payments would continue for up to 5 years. Your Income Protection cover would also move from Default to Fixed Cover insurance.

If you choose to cancel your insurance cover and later decide you would like cover again, you will have to provide satisfactory evidence of good health and be accepted by our insurer before cover can commence, and special conditions may apply.

You can make these changes through Member Online, or by using our forms which you will need to complete and return to us. If you're unsure about your cover, its a good idea to seek advice.

Transferring your insurance cover

In some circumstances, transferring your cover to NGS Super could mean that you may be unable to claim for particular conditions covered by your present insurer. This is because:

• your new cover with NGS Super will be issued under new terms and conditions and
• you have a new duty of disclosure when applying to transfer your insurance and if you do not meet it, your cover may not be accepted or your future claim may be at risk of not being paid.

If you are concerned about this, you may wish to seek professional advice.

Yes — you can cancel your cover at any time. If you choose to cancel your cover:

• you'll no longer be charged insurance fees (premiums)
• you won't be able to make an insurance claim for events or conditions that arise on or after the date your cover is cancelled.

You can cancel your cover:

• through Member Online via the insurance section
• by emailing or posting us a completed Insurance — Reduction or cancellation form
• over the phone by calling us on 1300 133 177.

Once cancelled, you can apply for cover again later if you change your mind. You'll need to complete our Insurance — Increase cover form, which includes a health assessment. Our insurer will assess your application — there's no guarantee that you'll be approved for cover again.

As a member of NGS Super, you have access to:

• Life (including Terminal Illness) cover, which can provide a lump sum if you die or become terminally ill
• Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) cover, which can provide a lump sum if you are permanently unable to work due to illness or injury and
• Income Protection (IP) cover, which can provide you with an income if you are temporarily (or permanently) unable to work due to an illness or injury.

If you die, become terminally ill or totally and permanently disabled, Life/TI and TPD cover can provide a lump sum to help protect your family’s financial situation.

If you suffer an accident or illness that stops you from working, IP cover can provide up to 90% (including up to 10% super contribution) of your pre-incapacity income, giving you the financial assurance to concentrate on your health.

Your IP and TPD benefits are designed to work together as one provides a regular income and the other provides a lump sum payment. A 2-year IP benefit payment period will help you meet your living expenses through regular income payments, while a TPD benefit will help you manage other financial costs associated with a permanent inability to work through a lump sum payment amount. These might include alterations to your home or ongoing medical costs.

We just can’t predict the future — when life doesn’t go to plan, insurance is there to protect you and your beneficiaries (such as loved ones) against financial hardship if you can’t work for a long period due to sickness or injury, become permanently disabled or die.

NGS Super partners with award-winning insurer, TAL, to offer a range of flexible insurance options. In 2021, TAL paid $38 million¹ in claims to NGS Super members alone.

Read more about the value of insurance.

¹The paid figure represents gross benefit amounts.

If you’re not sure about what type or level of cover you need, it’s a good idea to get an expert to help you out. We offer single-issue advice limited to your NGS Super account and insurance at no cost:

• over the phone through our Financial Advice Helpline or
• through our Super Specialists who you can talk to over the phone or meet either virtually or face-to-face.

We also offer low-cost tailored advice through NGS Financial Planning.

You can make an insurance claim either:

• over the phone via the using the tele-claim service
• online via Member Online.

To start an insurance claim process, either call us on 1300 133 177 Monday to Friday, 8am-8pm (AEST/AEDT) or log in to your Member Online account and navigate to the TAL insurance portal button in the insurance section.

To find out more, read our Insurance guide or call us on 1300 133 177 Monday to Friday, 8am-8pm (AEST/AEDT).

You can change your existing and future investment options at any time through Member Online. Alternatively, you can complete an Investment switching form and mail it to us. There are no fees for switching investment options in your account. Remember, super is a long-term investment – we recommend you seek financial advice before making any short-term changes to your long-term investment strategy.

Investment earnings within the NGS Accumulation account and NGS Transition to Retirement account are subject to up to 15% tax. There is no tax payable on investment earnings within an NGS Income account. Read our Fees, costs and tax fact sheet for full details on tax within super.

There are several things to consider when deciding which investment options may be right for you: 

What investments do you have outside of super?

Your investments outside of super may influence:

• the amount you need to save in super
• which investment options you choose (you may want to diversify by investing in asset classes you don’t already invest in)
• how you structure your finances in retirement.

How long will your money be invested for?

This is likely to affect the level of risk you are prepared to accept. If your money will be invested for a long time, you may feel comfortable pursuing higher long-term returns while accepting occasional negative returns in the short term because time is on your side. On the other hand, if you’re closer to retirement, you may not wish to take on a higher level of risk as there is less time to recover from loss.

How long will you need your retirement savings to last?

The longer you are retired, the more money you will need. This will influence both your savings goal and how much risk you are willing to take within the timeframe you have.

How much are you aiming to save?

The aim of super is to provide for retirement – but what does that look like for you, and what level of risk are you comfortable tolerating in order to achieve it? Risk in this context is the chance that you may not meet your retirement goal.

How much control do you want?

Do you want to decide the mix of assets in your portfolio or would you prefer to let NGS decide for you? There are options for each – you’ll need to decide how involved you’d like to be.

You can access information for all our investment options including their asset mix, level of risk, historical returns and performance objectives in our Investment Guide.

If you’re unsure of your investment decision, phone us on 1300 133 177 between 8:00am and 8:00pm (AEST or AEDT), Monday to Friday or consider seeking advice.

The fees and costs involved in investing will depend on which investment options you select. For a full breakdown of investments fees, check out our fees and costs page.

You can view a list of securities for each investment option on our website. Simply select an investment option and expand the asset type under the ‘Asset Allocation’ section.

You can also view a list of our investment managers.

At NGS Super, we believe that integrating Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and responsible investment principles plays a vital role in managing risk within our investment portfolio and providing our members with better risk-adjusted returns.

We encourage you to read about how NGS manages investments.

We publish all monthly investment performance figures.

The NGS Self-Managed Direct Investment Option (DIO) is an alternative to a Self-Managed Super Fund (SMSF) that provides a platform to invest in:

• ASX listed companies
• Exchange Traded Funds
• Term Deposits

Read our NGS Self-Managed Guide to find out how it works.

When money is received and invested in your NGS Super account, it is converted into units. Each investment option has its own unit price. The unit price will change as the value of the underlying assets change.

Unit pricing calculation generally takes place on a weekly basis and is a two-step process:

1. We calculate the value of the underlying assets of the investment option and take away the costs attributed to that option.
2. We divide this value by the number of units we have on issue to provide a price per unit.

Read our Investment Guide and Understanding Unit Pricing for further details.

There are several risks associated with investing. Risk varies between investment options – we provide individual risk profiles for each of our investment options in our Investment Guide.

More generally, investment risk can include:

Your Income account (and any Accumulation accounts you may have) will be included in the income and assets tests when Centrelink assesses your eligibility for the age pension. If you’re eligible for the age pension, the amount you receive may be reduced depending on the total of your assets and income. For full details, read our fact sheet Your super and the age pension.

The way the income and assets tests apply to super can be complex. It may be a good idea to seek advice from a financial planner before you retire.

Yes, within certain age-dependent limits as shown below:

Additionally, you can withdraw lump sum amounts when you need from your Income account (this feature is not available for Transition to Retirement accounts).

To change your NGS Income account payment amount, complete our Request to vary your income stream payments form.

You can choose to receive your income payments either fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly. You can change the frequency of your payments at any time, as long as you receive at least the minimum annual payment amount within a financial year.

To change the frequency of your NGS Income account payments, complete our Request to vary your income stream payments form.

Use our Request to vary your income stream payments form to change the amount and/or frequency of your income stream payments. You can also use this form to change your nominated bank account for your payments.

Income stream payments are tax-free once you are age 60.

If you have an Income or Transition to Retirement account prior to your 60th birthday, part of your income payments may be tax-free, and you will generally receive a 15% tax offset on the taxable portion of your payments.

Investment earnings within an NGS Income account are tax-free, whereas investment earnings in a Transition to Retirement account are concessionally taxed (taxed within super) at 15%.

Yes – you can choose the investment options your payments are drawn from when you open your account or at any time by completing our Investment switching form.

No. If you’d like to contribute more funds to super, you’ll need to either have or open an NGS Accumulation account. Before doing this, you should be aware of the contribution limits and, if you’re 67 or over, the work test requirements. Please read our fact sheet Opportunities and limits for your super contributions for more information on the work test and making contributions to super.

Once you’ve contributed funds to an Accumulation account, you may be able to transfer them to a new, separate NGS Income account (you cannot exceed a total balance of $1.6 million across all accounts you own that pay a superannuation pension or income stream). Alternatively, you can roll your original Income account back to accumulation phase and then transfer the consolidated funds into a new Income account (again, a balance cap of $1.6 million applies).

If you’d like to know more about this process, we encourage you to phone us on 1300 133 177 or seek advice.

You can withdraw lump sums from your Income account either as part of your total annual income payments, or as a separate amount. If you take a lump sum as part of your annual income, it will be included for assessment in Centrelink’s income test. However, if you take a lump sum separately as a one-off withdrawal, the amount will not be counted as income. Any one-off withdrawals you make from a superannuation account (accumulation or pension) must be notified to Centrelink while you are receiving the age pension or a part age pension. This is because your age pension amount may be affected by what you decide to do with the lump sum.

If you’re under age 67 (or over 67 and meet the work test during the financial year), you may choose to contribute any Income account payments back into a superannuation account. You will need to have an NGS Accumulation account open to do this and you should ensure you don’t exceed the contribution caps. More information on contributions to super and the work test can be found in our fact sheet Opportunities and limits for your super contributions.

When applying for an NGS Income account, you can choose to have your income payments continued to your spouse or another dependant in the event of your death; a reversionary pensioner is the eligible nominated person your income payments will go to.

You must satisfy one of the following conditions before you open an Income account:

• have reached your preservation age and retired from the workforce. Your preservation age is determined by your date of birth as set out in the table below:

  Your date of birth	Preservation age
  Before 1 July 1960	55
  1 July 1960–30 June 1961	56
  1 July 1961–30 June 1962	57
  1 July 1962–30 June 1963	58
  1 July 1963–30 June 1964	59
  After 30 June 1964	60

• have terminated a gainful employment arrangement after reaching age 60, even if you don't then retire
• be age 65 or over
• be permanently disabled.

You can also open an NGS Income account with the unrestricted non-preserved component (if you have one) of your NGS Accumulation account.

You’ll need a minimum starting balance of $20,000. If you want to keep your NGS Accumulation account open as well, you’ll need to leave at least $10,000 in it.

Lump sum benefits are tax free if paid to your “dependants for tax purposes”. These include:

• your spouse or de facto (of any sex)
• your children aged under 18
• a person who is partially or wholly financially dependent on you
• a person with whom you are in an interdependency relationship at the date of your death.

Our Helpline team can provide this for you. In most cases, you'll need a Centrelink Schedule - we will generate and email this to you within two to three business days. Please call our Helpline on 1300 133 177 between 8.00am and 8.00pm (AEST/AEDT), Monday to Friday.

Your employer has legislative obligations to submit Super Guarantee Contributions at least quarterly – you should contact them if this is not happening. There may be occasions when an employer is not obliged to contribute, for example, if an employee earns less than $450 in a month. You can also contact the ATO on 13 10 20 for more information.

Your account can stay with us. If you’d like your employer contributions to continue being directed to NGS Super, you’ll need to provide your new employer with your NGS account details. Simply complete our Superannuation Choice form and provide it to your new employer.

Your NGS Accumulation account will remain unchanged, unless you instruct us otherwise. Depending on your eligibility, you may be able to:

• keep your account as is (your retirement savings will stay in the super system)
• transfer part or all of your account to an NGS Income account, where you will receive regular income payments and benefit from further tax concessions on your investment earnings (your retirement savings will stay in the super system)
• access your super as a lump sum payment (your retirement savings will leave the super system and you will lose future tax concessions on any investment earnings).

Visit our Retirement and Accessing your superannuation pages for more information.

We offer low-cost tailored advice through NGS Financial Planning. To make an appointment, complete the Financial planning enquiry form or phone us on 1300 133 177.

You can either complete our Transfer authority form or request a transfer online through my.gov.au.

Overseas employers may not be obliged to make super contributions on your behalf. However, if you negotiate your super contributions as part of your employment contract, NGS is able to receive them via cheque (and foreign currencies are accepted).

If you’re working overseas for an Australian employer, they are still required to make employer contributions to your super. If your employer is making contributions to your Australian super, they will be exempt from making contributions to any retirement benefits scheme in the country you work in.

Yes. Please visit our Boost your partner’s superannuation page. To apply for a contribution split, you can complete our Contribution splitting form.

To change your investment options any time, at no cost, simply log in to Member Online to submit your investment switch request, or complete an Investment switching form and return it to us. If you’re unsure which investment options are right for you, consider seeking advice.

Please visit our Fees and costs page for a full breakdown of NGS Super’s fees and costs.

Once you permanently leave Australia (for residential purposes), you can claim any super you have accumulated by applying for a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP). Tax may apply — for more information, please visit the Australian Tax Office website.

New Zealand citizens are exempt from the DASP provision and, instead, can move retirement savings between Australia and New Zealand. To apply, please complete a Trans Tasman portability form.

While we are a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme, we are currently unable to accept transfers from English pension schemes due to rule changes made by UK HM Revenue and Customs.

There are many ways to contribute to super. Please visit our Grow my super page for more information.

There are many ways you can make contributions – first, you’ll need to decide the type of contributions you want to make. Please visit our Grow my super page for more information.

Super is designed to provide you with funds for your retirement. As a result, the rules around accessing your super are generally structured to keep and accumulate your savings until that time. There are some circumstances outside of retirement in which you may be able to access your super. You can find the details on our Accessing your super page or in our fact sheet Gaining access to your super.

Once you’re eligible to access your super, the process time will depend on how you choose to receive it (i.e. via an income stream or lump sum). Ensuring that you’ve completed the necessary paperwork and identification requirements accurately will minimise any risk of process delays.

When you open your first NGS Accumulation account and meet certain criteria, you will be provided with default insurance cover. Generally, you will need to either opt in to agree to receive Default Cover, or it will be provided to you automatically when you have reached at least age 25 and your account balance exceeds $6,000.

Default Cover is provided for Life and Terminal Illness, Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) and Income Protection (IP). Your level of cover and premiums will depend on your age and insurance category (a category based on the type of work you do). Premiums are deducted automatically from your NGS Accumulation account.

You can find out more about Default Cover in our Insurance Guide. For more information, you can also visit our Insurance and Changes to insurance pages.

For Accumulation accounts, you can nominate how you would like your death benefit to be distributed. It can be paid to:

• your estate (to be distributed in accordance with your will)
• your nominated beneficiary (or beneficiaries), or
• a combination of the two.

Similar options are available for Transition to Retirement and Income accounts.

Read our Nominate your beneficiaries fact sheet to find out more about making valid nominations. To make a beneficiary nomination, please complete our Death benefit nomination form.

Yes — as long as you are leaving Australia to live permanently in New Zealand. You’ll also need to have a KiwiSaver scheme ready to receive your transferred funds. To transfer your NGS Super account to a KiwiSaver account, you’ll need to complete our Trans Tasman portability form.

Unfortunately, no — we are unable to accept transfers from KiwiSaver accounts. If you need help working out your options, you can call our Helpline on 1300 133 177.

We try to ensure that our level of service meets your expectations. However, sometimes problems occur. If you are dissatisfied with your experience with NGS Super, we have a complaint resolution process to address your concerns fairly and efficiently.

Your first step is to contact us to discuss your concerns:

Phone: 1300 133 177 Monday to Friday, 8am–8pm (AEST/AEDT).

Overseas: +61 3 8687 1818

Online: ngssuper.com.au/forms-and-resources/complaints

You can provide more detailed information about your complaint to our Complaints Officer:

Mail: Complaints Officer
NGS Super
PO Box 21236
WORLD SQUARE NSW 2002

Email: ngssuper.com.au/contactus

We’ll investigate your complaint and try to resolve as soon as we can. Generally, we must respond fully in no more than 45 calendar days (or, if your complaint is about a proposed death benefit distribution, 90 calendar days after expiry of the period for objecting to that proposed distribution).

Our response will detail the outcome of the investigation and the reason for our decision.

No, this process is free of charge.

If we have not responded to you within the timeframe prescribed in our complaints process, or you are not satisfied with our decision, you may be able to take the matter to the external complaint resolution service that is free to consumers.

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) is an independent organisation that helps to resolve complaints with financial services providers. Their service is free of charge. Before helping you, AFCA will ask us to review your issue through our internal dispute resolution process if we have not done so beforehand.

Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA)

Online: afca.org.au

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 1800 931 678 (free call)

Mail: Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA)
GPO Box 3
MELBOURNE VIC 3001

Time limits may apply to your complaint, so you should act promptly or otherwise consult AFCA to find out if or when the time limit relevant to your circumstances expires.