Welcome

In this edition of the Employer Newsletter, we provide some administration updates and reminders. We also advise you that Local Government Super is to become a public offer scheme (restricted to existing Accumulation Scheme members at this stage), about changes to our insurance offering and we provide an update on performance in the December quarter.

We value your feedback, so please feel free to send us your comments or any suggestions on what articles you'd like to see in future newsletters by emailing: employerservices@lgsuper.com.au.

Administration update

Advice of new members

You can advise the Scheme of any new employees at the same time you provide their first contribution or you can advise of new members separately. Please ensure that you include their full given names and surnames, date of birth, address, date they entered your employ and their Tax File Number.

If members wish to complete an Application for Membership form, please advise them that only the latest version of the form is acceptable and this can be downloaded from our website at www.lgsuper.com.au. Please note we will not accept old versions of this form.

Note: Application for Membership forms will need to be accompanied by the relevant Product Disclosure Statement once the Scheme becomes public offer.

Contribution files

Please ensure that contribution files do not include formulas in the contributions fields. When the formulas are converted to values to two decimal places, discrepancies between file totals and the contribution payments can occur.

Members turning age 70

Please note that we issue advice to employers for those Accumulation Scheme members who will be turning age 70 in the coming quarter so that you do not remit Superannuation Guarantee contributions once they turn age 70. Please ensure you take note of this advice to avoid the need to refund or re-allocate these contributions.

We will also be issuing an alert to employers for Retirement Scheme members who will be turning age 70 to remind you to provide an Employment Termination advice in respect of these members using the date they turn age 70 as the Scheme Exit date.

Division B annual salary review spreadsheets are due

In early December, we sent you the '2008 Salary Listing' in an excel file format, together with explanatory documentation, and asked you to update it as part of the Retirement Scheme's 2008 Annual Salary Review process.

This information is needed to enable us to process the new salaries, combine them with members' newly elected percentage rates and calculate all member contribution rates in time for the new superannuation year commencing 1 April 2009.

If you haven't already done so, please return the salary listing to us as soon as possible.

Local Government Super to become public offer

From 1 March 2009, Accumulation Scheme members will be able to continue contributing to Local Government Super and to enjoy all the benefits it offers, even if they no longer work for Local Government.

In the past, Local Government Super only accepted contributions on behalf of members actively employed in the NSW Local Government sector. This meant that anyone who left the sector could no longer use their account for future contributions, although they could maintain it as an inactive account.

To enhance the service we provide to our members, the Trustee has decided to make Local Government Super a public offer scheme - that is, a scheme which accepts contributions from any employer or eligible person. Initially this will only be available to existing Accumulation Scheme members.

If an Accumulation Scheme member is about to leave your employ, they will still be able to hold an active account with us from March this year, no matter where they work. They will also be able to retain automatic insurance cover and all the other benefits of being in a not-for-profit fund.

You will receive brochures in the next few months that you will be able to hand out to departing employees. The brochures will provide information to assist your employees in understanding how they can maintain their superannuation with Local Government Super. In the meantime, contact the Employer Services Helpline on 1800 636 441 for assistance.

Improved insurance

As part of our drive to keep improving the services we offer members, we've negotiated an enhanced insurance package that's more in line with member needs.

The move is aimed at giving members the peace of mind in times of illness or tragedy. Indeed, recent industry research has found that the insurance cover of an average super fund member is less than 20% of what is needed.

After negotiations with TOWER Australia, the value of each unit of basic insurance members have with Local Government Super will be almost 70% more although the cost of each unit remains $5 per month.

From March 2009, basic cover for eligible Accumulation Scheme members will automatically increase from one unit of cover to three units of cover. This means that the cost of their insurance cover will increase from $5 per month to $15 per month.

In addition, the maximum cover age has increased from age 64 to 70 for the basic cover.

Example:
In January 2009, a 33 year old Accumulation Scheme member becomes eligible for automatic death or invalidity cover and is given one unit of cover, the value being $68,000 at a cost of $5 per month.

From 1 March 2009, the member will automatically be awarded 2 additional units of cover to give a total of 3 units. An extra $10 (total $15) will be deducted each month from the member's account and based on the new Benefit Scales the level of cover will be $115,000 per unit (or $345,000 in total).

For Executive Scheme members the number of units will not change but the value of each unit will increase.

If members don't want the extra units of basic cover or want to opt out of the cover then they will need to go to our website at www.lgsuper.com.au and complete and return the 'Cancel or Reduce Basic Death or Invalidity Cover' form or call our Member Services on 1300 369 901.

Local Government Super Employer Forum

Local Government Super is holding a residential Employer Forum on 7 and 8 May 2009 for any staff directly involved in administering or dealing with superannuation.

The Forum is designed to provide greater detail about the changes that will occur in Local Government Super this year, such as public offer, the new insurance arrangements and the changes to the employer contribution requirements in the Retirement Scheme. There will also be presentations about initiatives in the Administration and Financial Planning areas, a gala dinner, a celebrity guest speaker and an open forum session for delegates to raise any matter of interest or concern with an expert panel.

If you would like any further information about the content of the Forum or about how to go about registering please contact Local Government Super at info@lgsuper.com.au.

Investment returns

Quarterly returns for Contributor Financed Benefit - Retirement Scheme
As at December 2008

Strategy	Returns
High Growth	-17.8%
Trustee Selection*	-13.9%
Diversified	-14.3%
Balanced	-11.6%
Capital Guarded	-9.2%
Cash Plus	0.7%

All figures are shown to one decimal place. Returns may vary slightly between Divisions of the Scheme.
* Available to Retirement Scheme members only.

Quarterly returns for Accumulation Scheme
As at December 2008

Strategy	Returns
High Growth	-17.2%
Diversified	-13.9%
Balanced	-11.2%
Capital Guarded	-9.0%
Cash Plus	0.8%

All figures are shown to one decimal place. Returns may vary slightly between Divisions of the Scheme.

Quarterly Superannuation Guarantee (SG) Contributions

All employers under the SG scheme must contribute the minimum level of 9% of each eligible employee's earning base in super support for each financial year. The SG contribution is required to be contributed on at least a quarterly basis. From 1 July 2008, your employees' earning base is their ordinary times earnings (OTE).

The following describes the ATO deadlines for employer contributions and the penalties that may apply if employers do not meet them. Local Government employers who make monthly contributions in accordance with the Scheme rules will more than satisfy these minimum requirements and will therefore avoid any of the penalties listed.

The ATO imposes penalties if SG contributions are not made by the quarterly cut-off date by applying an SG Charge (SGC)* which is made up of three parts:

• SG shortfall amounts based on ordinary times earnings (OTE)
• Nominal interest on that amount (10% per annum)
• Administration fee of $20 per employee per quarter.

If the SGC and the SGC statement are not submitted by the due date for lodgement additional penalties may apply and these are:

• General Interest Charge (GIC) from the SGC due date will be incurred. GIC compounds daily until SGC and accrued GIC is paid in full. The ATO can reduce the penalty. GIC is tax deductible in the year it is incurred.
• An amendment in the SG legislation, from 24 June 2008, means that if an employer makes an SG contribution to a superannuation fund which is late the employer can elect to have this contribution used to offset against the amount of SG charge they have to pay to the ATO for not meeting their superannuation obligations. Please refer to the ATO website for further information at www.ato.gov.au.
• Penalties may also apply for false misleading statements, avoidance, failure to provide information or failure to keep SG records.

The following table obtained from the ATO lists the standard cut-off and lodgement dates.

Superannuation Guarantee quarter ended	Cut-off date for Superannuation Guarantee Contributions	Due date for lodgement of an SG statement and payment of the SG charge if contributions are not made on time
1 July - 30 Sept	28 October	28 November
1 Oct - 31 Dec	28 January	28 February**
1 Jan - 31 March	28 April	28 May
1 April - 30 June	28 July	28 August

* The SGC is not tax deductible and cannot be reduced by the ATO.
** As 28 February 2009 falls on a weekend the ATO has indicated that the due date is the next business day (2 March 2009).

Would you like to see more of us?

As part of our service to you we offer free pre-retirement seminars to your employees, either on your site or at a venue close to you. If you'd like to organise a free seminar for employees, please call 1800 636 441.

Free pre-retirement planning seminars

Pre-retirement seminars are targeted at people who are over 50 years of age and provide information on the following:

• Maximising Super Benefits
• Decision Time
      - Income Streams in Retirement
• Centrelink
      - Age Pension & Allowances
      - Asset and Income Tests
• Financial Planning
      - The importance of qualified Financial Planning advice
      - Estate Planning
  Refreshments are provided.

For details of the forthcoming Retirement Seminars, click here.

Office locations

Lismore
81-83 Molesworth Street
Phone: 02 6627 5800
Fax: 02 6621 3368

Newcastle
161 King Street
Phone: 02 4929 8200
Fax: 02 4929 8210

Orange
187 Summer Street
Phone: 02 6360 8900
Fax: 02 6360 8910

Sydney
28 Margaret Street
Phone: 02 8234 6000
Fax: 02 9279 4131

Parramatta
10-14 Smith Street
Phone: 02 9354 1400
Fax: 02 9354 1410

Wagga Wagga
2/209 Baylis Street
Phone: 02 6926 8000
Fax: 02 6926 8010

Wollongong
Shop 2/60 Burelli Street
Phone: 02 4224 8000
Fax: 02 4224 8010

Albury* 621 Dean Street
*Note: Bookings are essential.

Are you sending your communications to the right place?

The following is a one-stop reference guide to all the relevant contact numbers and addresses through which employers are to send communications.

Fax
All employer faxes are to be sent to: 02 9299 9321

Contribution Return Emails
All Contribution Return e-mails are to go to the following e-mail address: employeronline@lgsuper.com.au

All Other E-mails
employerservices@lgsuper.com.au

Telephone
For all employer inquiries, please call 1800 636 441

Writing
If you are writing to the Scheme, please address the letter as follows:
Local Government Superannuation Scheme
PO Box N835 Grosvenor Place
NSW 1220

Please note that the information contained in this document is of a general nature only and is not for personal advice and has not taken into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Any advice in this document is provided by FuturePlus Financial Services Pty Ltd (ABN 90 080 972 630) as an Australian Financial Services Licensee (AFSL 238445) on behalf of the Trustee of the Local Government Superannuation Scheme, LGSS Pty Ltd (ABN 68 078 003 497) (ABN Pool A - 74 925 979 278 and ABN Pool B - 28 901 371 321).

Members should not rely solely on this information and should consider their own personal objectives, financial situation and needs before acting on this information. Prior to making any decision you should obtain and consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) pertaining to your Scheme membership.