Jon Linehan
The Defence Bank has expanded its offering to members and potential members with the launch of a new superannuation and pension product.
Called Defence Bank Super, the new product has been designed for members in either the accumulation or the retirement stage of life.
The CEO of the Defence Bank, Jon Linehan, says the decision to establish a superannuation product is part of this mutual bank’s strategy to provide a full suite of products to Defence Bank’s more than 90,000 members, as well as new members.
“We are excited by this initiative. It will build on the strong rapport we have with our members. We have seen already keen interest in the product, with the initial feedback from our members being extremely positive.
“Defence Bank Super has been designed to be a simple, competitive way of saving for retirement and enjoying the security of an income stream in retirement. Members can manage their superannuation through online banking 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“Our aim is to provide a total package with members having five investment options, from term deposits to a growth option, as well as having access to life, total and permanent disability and income protection insurance.
“Similar to the Defence Bank’s Super Assured Retirement Savings Account (RSA), this superannuation and pension product will be classified a Tier 1 product, meaning members can get information about it from one of the Defence Bank’s retail investment team.”
The establishment of Defence Bank Super follows the successful launch and consistent growth of the Defence Bank’s RSA (now the largest in the mutual space) with term deposits and no fees.
Linehan says: “We launched the RSA when there was a large section of our membership looking for certainty of return and safety against the backdrop of volatile markets.
“For us, it is now the next logical step to ensure members have a range of superannuation options to choose from. The design of the product is consistent with feedback we’re getting from our RSA members: keep it simple with a preference still for term deposits with an option to invest in the share markets.
“We also believe that bank cash, fixed and term deposits will perform well compared with other fixed interest products and funds in rising interest rate markets.”
Linehan also announced that the Defence Bank’s RSA product has been improved.
“When members log-in now, they can quickly see their account balance. It’s an initiative that members have been asking for and we are pleased to have implemented it.”
