Healthy reductions

Life insurer Asteron has an online preventative healthcare program that, if followed successfully, will reduce the premiums paid for Asteron life insurance. After 12 months of following the program's recommendations for exercise and diet, the person's health indicators are reassessed and the premium could be lowered. After a further 12 months, the premium could be lowered again.

Super stars

The 1.8 million-member industry fund, REST Superannuation, has won SuperRating's fund of the year. As well as good long-term returns and enhanced insurance offerings, the fund performed well during the global financial crisis. Another not-for-profit industry fund, Sunsuper, took out the pension fund of the year for the second year in a row.

Simple solution

Superannuation funds have too many investment options, which few members use and all pay for in higher costs, says associate professor John Evans, deputy director of the Centre for Pensions and Superannuation at the UNSW Australian School of Business. He favours a "very simple interest crediting-type account" as the default offering.

Future force

ANZ will progressively introduce "retirement bankers" at every ANZ branch nationally by mid-2010 in addition to the more than 200 bank branches that already have retirement bankers. The bank says the retirement bankers are able to offer a free review to those customers in retirement or planning for their retirement.