Super fund took more than 500 days to approve death benefit for grieving widow, Asic says

Joe Longo, chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, has called on the superannuation industry to ‘flex their muscle to fix the failings’. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

An unnamed superannuation fund took more than 500 days to approve a death benefit payment to an Indigenous woman grieving the loss of her husband and ignored her concerns about financial hardship and a confusing claims process.

The “distressing” case has been highlighted by the financial regulator as one of many “poor industry practices” by funds that have had “devastating impacts” on members experiencing “deep grief, vulnerability, frustration and genuine suffering”.