Superannuation fund – later Super SA – for government public sector workers in South Australia starts in 1902
The offices (inset) in Pulteney Street, Adelaide city, of Super SA, the South Australian Superannuation Fund for the state government's public sector staff,
South Australia’s Public Service Superannuation Fund had its first board meeting in 1902 – the origin of what became Super SA. aiming for $43 billion combined assets under management for the state’s public sector workers by 2024.
The fund was supervised by a board answerable to the South Australian government treasurer as minister for superannuation. When first annual report of the Public Service Superannuation Fund was submitted to the South Australia governor in 1903, it had 545 members. The fund board’s early meeting minutes were published in the Register newspaper.
In 1926-27, the fund’s pension scheme, with a defined benefit, was founded. This closed to new members in May 1986.
The Public Service Superannuation Fund joined with the Teachers’ Fund to become the South Australian Superannuation Fund in 2016. That year, for the sixth consecutive year, Super SA was ranked in the top 300 superannuation funds in the world. It is placed at 245 among funds from North America, Europe, the United Kingdom and Japan. Super SA was one of only 16 Australian funds included in this listing, with sovereign and public sector funds, like Super SA, accounting for 67% of the total assets of the top 300 funds. SuperSA membership reached more than 210,000 in 2016.
The SuperSA board oversaw its fund’s offerings expand to the Triple S Scheme (accumulation), the pension scheme, lump sum scheme and SA Ambulance Service Super Scheme (defined benefit schemes) and the flexible rollover product and Super SA income stream (post-retirement products) as well as self-underwritten insurance.
The South Australian superannuation board became trustee of the SA Ambulance Superannuation Scheme from 2006. The state superannuation office also administered the parliamentary superannuation scheme, judges' pension scheme and governors' pension scheme.
From the early 21th Century, SupernSA funds were managed by a specialist investment manager, Superannuation Funds Management Corporation of South Australia (Funds SA). Funds SA had new competitive challenges to improve on its best practice investment model in investment strategy, returns, and reporting from 2022 when most South Australian public sector workers were free to direct employer superannuation contributions to a complying super fund of their choice.
Funds SA also managed investments of SA Police Super, administered by tts own police superannuation board.
