From 1 July 2013, superannuation fund trustees must disclose the remuneration of each director or other executive officer if the RSE licensee is a body corporate, or each trustee if the RSE licensee is a group of individual trustees.  Trustees need to disclose all payments, benefits and compensation paid for or provided by the trustee or by related bodies corporate.

The law gave superannuation trustees 2 days to absorb before it became effective. However, it had been under consideration for months, and was with aspects of the draft law discussed HERE. Nevertheless, given the short notice, ASIC has allowed superannuation funds a longer period to adjust with a special class order exemption.

The requirement was included in the flurry of legislation passed before Federal Parliament rose on 28 June was the Superannuation Amendment (MySuper Measures) Regulation 2013 which, among other things, inserts regulation 2.37 into the Superannuation Industry Supervision (SIS) Regulations setting out the information relating to remuneration that superannuation fund trustees (strictly, ‘Registrable Superannuation Entity (RSE) licensees’) must publish, and keep up to date, on their websites.

The regulation is modelled on the existing requirements for listed companies under regulation 2M3.03 of the Corporations Regulations.  This includes general information, in addition to the items relating to payments and benefits and compensation.  Monies attributable to service as a director that are not paid to the director will also have to be disclosed.  For example, in funds where the director has been appointed by an employer or employee sponsor and the fee for their service is paid to the organisation rather than directly to the person, the name of the organisation and amount paid will have to be disclosed.

Disclosure will generally be required for the two most recently completed financial years.

In addition, where an executive officer or individual trustee also receives payments or benefits from a related entity to the RSE, subregulation 2.37(2) requires the disclosure of the amount of those payments or benefits that accurately represent the proportion of the person’s time committed to their obligations to the RSE.

For other information that does not fall into these categories, such as remuneration policies, ASIC will consider providing guidance to the industry on the minimum information that should be included in these documents.  In addition, APRA has requirements for Remuneration Policy in its Governance Prudential Standard SPS 510. 

Recognising the timing involved, ASIC has issued Class Order 13/830 to give superannuation fund trustees until 31 October 2013 to meet the new disclosure requirements (see HERE).

 

The regulations are available HERE.

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