A word from the CEO

With 2021 upon us, we reflect on the challenges of the year that has been, feel gratitude for all that our members do to protect Victorian communities and consider what we now face in terms of our 'new normal'.

Many things have changed, but one constant is our commitment to our members. We want to assure you that we remain focussed on delivering exceptional service and assisting you to achieve great retirement outcomes.

Market update

While investment performance was mixed in the month of January 2021, with some growth exposed sectors generating small positive returns and some defensive sectors generating small negative returns, all of ESSSuper's Investment Options outperformed their respective objectives over three years to January 2021. I'm pleased to say that the Fund's relative performance versus their SuperRatings peers remained strong over the year to January 2021, with eight of nine Investment Options performing in the top 25% - 50% of all funds.^*

Empowering members to take control of their retirement journey

At ESSSuper, we have an important responsibility to help you plan for a retirement future that suits you. To this end, we have developed AssistMe, a smart, easy-to-use interactive tool designed to show you what lifestyle your superannuation and investment strategy is likely to support in retirement and how changing certain factors today can impact how long your super may last once you retire. You can adjust assumptions such as risk appetite, contributions, working hours and retirement date to model your desired retirement savings outcome. AssistMe also provides a wealth of information, tools and other resources to explain the complexities of superannuation.

To access this great tool, take control of your retirement journey and work out what is best for you, log into Members Online and click 'AssistMe' in the left-hand navigation bar. I hope you find it valuable.

Industry recognition

Our member focus has culminated in a number of respected industry awards. Last year ESSSuper was awarded a Platinum rating by SuperRatings^** for both our Accumulation Plan and Retirement Income Stream products, placing us in the top 25% of all super funds in Australia for the 11^th and 12^th years respectively. This superannuation research company benchmarks funds on a broad range of criteria, including value for money, products, service levels, administration and governance. We again achieved the number 1 rating for satisfaction and advocacy in the Investment Trends^† survey of Super Fund members.

 
I hope you enjoy this issue of Super News. If you have any feedback and suggestions, please let us know. All your comments are appreciated and will help us make this newsletter as relevant and informative as possible.

And thank you again for your dedicated service to all Victorians. All of us at ESSSuper wish you all the very best for the year ahead.

^* Source: SuperRatings - superratings.com.au

^** Platinum Ratings for consistent performance over 11 and 12 consecutive years, respectively, from SuperRatings; an independently owned superannuation research company. Refer to our Awards webpage for more information.

^† Source: Investment Trends 2020 Member Sentiment & Communications Report

Emergency Services Superannuation Board (ABN 28 161 296 741), the Trustee of the Emergency Services Superannuation Scheme (ABN 85 894 637 037) (ESSSuper).

The information contained in this article is of a general nature only. It should not be considered as a substitute for reading ESSSuper's Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) that contains detailed information about ESSSuper products, services and features. Before making a decision about an ESSSuper product, you should consider the appropriateness of the product to your personal objectives, financial situation and needs. It may also be beneficial to seek professional advice from a licensed financial planner or adviser. An ESSSuper PDS is available at esssuper.com.au/pds or by calling 1300 650 161.