AVOID investing with this super fund. Abysmal service. My father was with the fund for decades. He passed away 11 months ago and you have had all the paperwork for 6 months. Solicitors, Executors and Beneficiaries have all repeated called to find out an update and have had NOT ONE RETURN PHONE CALL. It must be up to 50 calls by now.
We am deeply dissatisfied and angry with the total lack of transparency and customer service. You are clearly keeping the funds for as long as possible to get as much interest as possible. Dishonest and disgusting.

About as bad as it gets.
As an employer I’ve recommended Hostplus to over a hundred people over the years.
I don’t know what has happened to it, but it’s terrible now.
I am transitioning to a Pension and after speaking to 9 people, 14 phone calls, and 5 months I finally got the necessary forms.
I’d transferred a large sum into my super, it’s tax free provided you transition to a pension in the same financial year. I did this in February and have been trying to speak to the pension department ever since. A new financial year is upon us, so I can kiss the additional $9,000 I was expecting to get goodbye.
Thank you Hostplus, I’m less than impressed.
I may buy another business, you can be assured I won’t be recommending Hostplus to anybody ever again.

If you can go somewhere else do so. Do not waste your hard earned money with this lot.

There website is so out of date. I have been trying to look up progress on the account and it is still showing figures as at the 30th November more than 6 week out of date

Worst customer service ever experienced. On advise from Host plus, I withdrew a lump sum from non-preserved non-restricted super after being assured there was no tax implications. But that was wrong and I was debited $10 tax. Despite immediately returning my part of the lump sum to Host plus, it is now weeks later and not only am I still waiting for the tax money, I can’t even get a phone call or email to let me know what is happening , despite multiple phone from myself. All I get told is there is no one I can transfer you to, our process is to email the resolutions team and they will call you back in 48hrs. Been promised this over 10 times now and no call back. This is a company that people entrust life savings with and we are not even worth a phone call.

Look at the AFCA datacube – complaints by firm. Hostplus is the second most complained about Industry Super Fund after Australian Super. For complaints last financial year ending June 2022 Hostplus had a non-response rate of 48.55%, failing to respond to their registration with AFCA.

It appears that complaints have just become part of their business model. Hostplus is a good fund until you retire and try to access your money. Seven weeks after acknowledging receipt of my first cash application, on retirement grounds, and after already telling me there were no issues with my application as it was processing, Hostplus tried to palm off the old scanning issues excuse. So after nearly two months they haven’t even scanned it yet? So they are going to deny or significantly delay my funds because they have a dodgy scanner? After already telling me it was processing? Do they have any idea how this sounds? My cynical response led to the rep reading my file telling me that they tried to push my application through (as if there is some external force stopping it!) on 16 Feb, but there was a quality control issue. They didn’t tell me that on 21 Feb when they told me that there were no issues. Couldn’t tell me what the issue was.

I then applied for a second lot of cash as it was taking so long I realised it was better to pay off my mortgage and keep some in a term deposit. As I hadn’t earned any serious money for the past six months I went to Centrelink, which had its own problems, as I’m not of pension age yet. CBA was excellent in freezing my mortgage. Well the second much larger application got paid within 7 days, hallelujah! thankfully I can skip Centrelink because I wasn’t getting anywhere. Hostplus emailed apologising for the two month delay citing identification issues. Why didn’t they tell me that? I used the same documents as the first application. Everything was exactly as requested. Because I got paid my second application they stated my complaint was now resolved. But hang on! My complaint referred to my first application. I made it crystal clear when they called for phone ID that I wanted both pay outs. I did not withdraw my first application! If I knew they were going to cancel it I would have applied for even more in my second application. This mob will do anything not to give you your money! If I hadn’t put in a second application they would have let me sit there forever with no income, going financially under, and not telling me why. I have now put in a third application and no doubt will require another complaint down the track. No transparency at all! Some retirement….

Hostplus have lost sight of the reason that they exist in the first place. Too much emphasis is placed on performance when comparing funds and not comparing customer service and returning funds to members, their raison de’tre. Do those who have over a mil in their account really think they can just get their money when they want it when they retire? You shouldn’t need to go to AFCA, or constantly call. One reviewer on here stated it took six months having served legal papers. However super funds are NOT legally required to return your funds at all in any form, unless you die or are non-Australian returning over-seas, which is why they can ignore AFCA. I’m going to address this in my youtube review at the end of the year. Running a podcast will be my retirement hobby. If anyone is happy to be zoom or in person interviewed about their experiences PLEASE private message me. The interview can be voice only recording if you don’t want to be filmed. Thanks.
Important points to consider.
1. When you retire you need to have a substantial amount kept outside the super industry so you can access it. Just pay any tax, it’s worth it to avoid these issues.
2. Despite what some financial advisors might say, the government 250k cash guarantee does not apply to super funds, regardless of investing cash within the fund. (unless you have a SMSF).
3. When claiming your super put a complaint in after a couple of weeks. It takes 45 days after
that before you can take it to AFCA.
4. Read the trust deed, Hostplus can take 60 days to pay you, and they have a host of reasons why they don’t have to. A Hostplus of reasons actually!
Read their PDS p40 5.18 and trust deed.
5. Do not make any important life decisions until you have your funds. Relying on the time frame Hostplus tells you is a lack of financial duty of care on their part.

Satisfied

I am in the process of leaving Hostels. By far the worst I have ever dealt with!

Absolutely appalling. I was in a situation where I was relying on my super to pay for my rent. Tragically, the organisation I worked for, wasn’t required to pay my super into this account until the end of January 2023.what a blast! And then, here’s the kicker, I’m lucky enough to get under $900 back. So much less than my employer paid. Comical, horrible. And as to the sad creatures I’ve spoken to by phone? It’s apparent they’ve no idea who they are speaking to or why.
And as a matter of interest? I’m about to be evicted from my apartment because I can’t pay my rent.
You have a choice. Don’t choose hostplus. I’ve lost hundreds literally given their investment choices. I’ve contacted them several times and begged them to move my situation forward. Didn’t happen. Isn’t happening. How would I rate them? Seriously? I wouldn’t.
Get your super from anywhere else. My experience has been horrendous and seriously lacked compassion. Move on and choose any other super offer than these shits

In four words: run for the hills. Worst superfund EVER. No processes, call wait times are ridiculous plus they lose money quicker than you’ll lose braincells dealing with them. Absolutely terrible experience..

I wouldn’t recommend HP to my worst enemy. Don’t respond to emails, I have been chasing a rollover payment to my SMSF since November 2022. Its now almost August.

This company has the worst customers service. Every time you try to get answers the hang up. I have tried to get in touch with them three times and all they do is transfer me and then hang up..
I will be tranfuring my super to another fund.

Extremely difficult to withdraw your money. even when they acknowledge they have all the completed paperwork they will refuse to tell you when you will receive your money.

Don’t expect it within 3 business days, or 5, or 7, or 9, or 11, or 13, or 15, or 17, or 19…. I’m still waiting…

Shocking.

Take forever to respond to emails, keep asking for documents to be mailed, will never give you your money that’s legally YOURS.

Criminals!!!!!!