I have a mate who recently went to withdraw his superannuation only to find that the money he has contributed over the past year has been depleted by insurance payments.
His super contribution was around $85 per week and the super mob, AMP, have been taking out $520 a month for insurance. He rolled some lost super over into this account and it has all pretty much disappeared.
He cannot recall actively purchasing insurance and maintains that he never has as he believes all insurance is a scam. I have said that I will write a letter to the ombudsmen as both AMP and the employer have been of no help whatsoever.
I have told him that he needs to see documentation which they maintain authorized the withdrawals but needless to say they have given him the run around.
Does anyone have any experience or advice on this?
I seem to remember recently seeing a news article about this with regards to the current royal commission.
It went along the lines of the super funds having to pay back millions, I can't find the story at the moment but I'm sure AMP was one of them.
Yes. It's a subject I know little about. I took mine out in 2014 and have paid little attention since but you would think that if they were going to take your money and put it into a "growth" fund they would make the attempt to make sure that the level of outgoings would ensure that there was at least something left.
I used to contribute to private super long before it became mandatory. When it did I withdrew it because I had a bad feeling about it.
Its got me stuffed why it is that the Australian government cannot be proactive enough to follow the Norwegian example. Well it hasn't really, they've sold off everything of value now they've flogged the future.
That doesn't help Brian get his $5k back though.
AMP have a formal dispute resolution procedure which is where he needs to start.
www.amp.com.au/support/complaints/amp-customer-advocate
The ombudsman will not get involved until he has followed their internal procedure and come to an unsatisfactory outcome. Believe me AMP DO NOT want this to get to the ombudsman so if the case is as you describe he is HIGHLY likely to get a favourable outcome.
I mentioned something similar in another thread recently. Fortunately I knew they did this from previous (poor) experience.
What they do is that when you switch from an employer fund to a non-employer fund, they keep the same level of insurance or switch to a different insurance, which is normally more expensive. They "tell" you about this on the super statements that they send you and give you an opt-out period, but otherwise they happily drain your account ignoring the fact that you never requested it and it may be more than the account is worth.
I had an account with Tower that was drained completely this way for insurance I never knew I had and for an unencumbered single 28 year old, I never needed.
This time around, when I contacted AMP they were very responsive, no doubt due to the current investigations into their behaviour.
Scott Pape - the Barefoot Investor has written newspaper columns on this very thing in the past couple of weeks. The recent Royal Commission or whatever it is into the behaviour of Super funds is because of one single mum fighting back over this sort of scam. I know it was in The West Australian newspaper recently, but sure it would be a syndicated article also running in other papers...
I'd be fighting it.
When you take our Superannuation you HAVE TO tell them I do not want insurance on my Super. I know you shouldn't have to but I have heard this happening before. Not sure who does and doesn't do this but a lot of Banks etc are just adding the insurance. Dirty Rotters. Look on the bright side; at least you were not cashing it in at 70 to find it gone. You should put a public post out on Facebook as I am sure you are not the only one and you won't be the last this happens to.
A self refunded retiree I know was told by an AMP financial adviser that Unions take $$ out of industry funds ...she was questioning why my CBUS got over 10% and hers 6 % ...shes anti union so left it with AMP ...lol ..
There's a huge void in what people think they'll get and what's actually in the kitty, in time people will get burnt, banks are ****s and always have and will be, join the Q
lucky that such a small amount was shafted from you
AMP? Don't fkn ... get me... fkn started. 
In my personal experience, the miss-selling of insurance and policies by these pricks goes back 29 years!
AMP still haven't managed to change my name and address on a policy since 2000...
For numerous reasons (ie like what is being reported now) my wife and I moved our life insurances away from them a number of years ago to another company... that was then taken over by AMP a year after we got out... so we are back in again. It was THAT much of a massive s**t fight to get it swapped out that we literally gave up arguing with them.
My latest life insurance premium has just dropped though the post... up 23% in a year!!!
I am about to go back through my policies to find all the issues. etc
Trying to find the time to go through 30 years of paperwork.... I'm sure that's what they hope people cant be bothered doing...
Thanks for all the help and comments. The bloke I am helping has offered me a cut of the proceeds if I manage to get any of it back but it's not about that.
I'm wondering at what point AMP would cease taking insurance payments out of the fund he had accumulated. Ie at which stage would they realise that he was spending $585 a month on insuring nothing?
ABC had an interesting snip a bit back, forgot the blokes name but he was the leading advisor to the uk,s and Australia's biggest banks, he talked of the huge shortfall in super/ pensions, and how it Carnt continue without a massive meltdown at some stage, and it'd be those recipients taking the hit ,
