AGY-6394 | Superannuation Administration Corporation trading as Pillar Administration

Full description

The Superannuation Administration Corporation was established on 26 July 1999 under section 5 of the Superannuation Administration Authority Corporatisation Act 1999 (Act No.5, 1999) as a State owned corporation. The Governor could make regulations changing the name of the Corporation which traded as Pillar Administration from 2001. (1) The Corporation was governed by a Board of Directors that reported to Shareholding Ministers appointed under the State Owned Corporations Act 1989 (Act No.13, 1989), and to a Portfolio Minister. (2)

The principal functions of the Superannuation Administration Corporation were the development, promotion and conduct of its business of providing superannuation scheme administration services and related services. The Corporation could provide services that included (but were not limited to) the following: (a) collecting contributions to superannuation schemes, (b) keeping and maintaining member records, (c) providing information and advice to members, (d) preparing financial statements on behalf of trustees, and (e) processing of claims and payment of benefits. (3)

The business of the Corporation was the provision of superannuation scheme administration services and related services, in both the public and private sector. When the Corporation was established in 1999 it had no private sector clients. (4) From 2001 it expanded into the private market outside the public sector. (5)

The services provided by the Corporation included: collecting and processing member and employee contributions; maintaining member, accounting and other fund records; processing claims and paying benefits including pensions; processing investment elections; answering member and employer inquiries through a Contact Centre and a Member Interview service; managing and developing fund websites that provided 24 hour-a-day information on member accounts; issuing member statements and literature; assisting employers; keeping trustees informed of details on administration activities and performance; interacting with custodians and other service providers; superannuation consultancy services for trustees; and, where required, providing corporate services and fund secretariat services. (6)

As at 30 June 2009 the Corporation administered superannuation funds that had approximately 1.9 million members (including members receiving superannuation pensions) and total fund assets of around $60 billion. (7)

In 2009 the Corporation had approximately 650 employees and operated from the following locations: 83 Clarence Street, Sydney; 5 Old Spring Hill Road, Coniston in Wollongong, the Corporation’s National Service Centre; and at the Corporate Centre, 20-24 Bridge Street, Coniston. (8)

The NSW Treasurer, Gladys Berejiklian, announced that Pillar was to be sold to Mercer (Australia) Pty Ltd for $35 million on 2 December 2011. (9)

The transaction was enabled under the Superannuation Administration Corporation (Pillar) (Authorised Transaction) Act 2016 which received assent on 19 May 2016. The Superannuation Administration Corporation (Pillar) ceased to be a statutory State owned corporation for the purposes of the State Owned Corporations Act 1989 as a consequence of corporate conversion directions given by the Treasurer under the Superannuation Administration Corporation (Pillar) (Authorised Transaction) Act 2016. The direction was given in respect of the Superannuation Administration Corporation on 1 December 2016. Consequently the Superannuation Administration Corporation was removed from Schedule 5 Statutory SOCs in the State Owned Corporations Act. (10)

Endnotes
1. Superannuation Administration Authority Corporatisation Act 1999 (Act No.5, 1999), s.5(1); NSW Government Gazette No.84, 23 July 1999, p.5146.
2. Superannuation Administration Authority trading as Pillar Administration, Annual Report, 2003-2004, Part A, p.6.
3. The Act, s.7.
4. Act, s.6(1); Superannuation Administration Authority trading as Pillar Administration, Annual Report, 2003-2004, Part A, p.10.
5. Pillar Administration, About Us Brochure, p.7 available from http://www.pillar.com.au/about_us.htm (accessed 28 July 2010).
6. Superannuation Administration Authority trading as Pillar Administration, Annual Report, 2008-2009, p.A3.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Media release by Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian, PDF downloaded from https://www.statesuper.nsw.gov.au/news-and-publications/news/pillar-administration-sold-to-mercer-australia (accessed 2 March 2023).
10. Superannuation Administration Corporation (Pillar) (Authorised Transaction) Act 2016 (Act No.19, 2016); Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2017 (Act No.22, 2017) Schedule 1, 1.18 State Owned Corporations Act 1989 (Act No.134, 1989), with the amendment of that Act commenced on 8 May 2017, with the transaction date provided in the explanatory note.