ING Living Super Account review

A simple and straightforward online super solution with competitive fees.

If you’re looking for an easy-to-manage online super account with a range of investment options, ING Living Super is well worth a closer look. With competitive fees and a variety of insurance solutions, Living Super gives you the flexibility to choose an investment portfolio that suits both your life stage and your tolerance for risk.

Read on for more details of what ING Living Super offers to its members to find out whether it could be the right super solution for your retirement.

Key features

ING Living Super provides several important benefits and features for members:

• Tailored investments. With ING Living Super, you can tailor an investment mix to suit your financial goals and life stage. You can choose from managed investments, term deposits and real-time share and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
• Real-time share trading. ING Direct Living Super members can trade shares in real-time online. You can choose from the S&P/ASX 300 index, selected ETFs and listed investment companies.
• Cash Hub. When you open an account, a Cash Hub is also established for you. This interest-bearing account is designed to receive income, pay expenses and manage all other transactions for your linked Living Super account,
• Mobile access. You can check your Living Super balance alongside the balances of all your other ING accounts quickly and easily from your smartphone.
• Online access. It’s also simple to manage your account online, allowing you to switch investments, trade shares and ETFs, and adjust your level of insurance. You can also rollover and consolidate your super online.
• 24/7 support. ING Direct offers customer support through its 24/7 contact centre, and super specialists are available to provide expert advice and assistance from Monday through to Saturday.

Investment options

ING Living Super investment options are split into four distinct categories: Safe, Smart, Select and Shares.

Option 1: Safe

If you choose this option, your super balance is invested in cash and term deposits held with ING. The table below outlines the investment options available in this category:

Investment Option	Asset allocation	Risk level	Benchmark
Cash Hub	Invests your balance 100% in cash to provide security and a regular income	Very low	RBA cash rate less 0.75% p.a.
Cash Option	Invests 100% of your balance in cash to provide a regular income and security of capital	Very low	RBA cash rate
Term Deposits	Invests in wholesale term deposits to provide stable returns with minimum risk. Choose from 3-month, 6-month, 1-year and 2-year options	Very low	N/A

Option 2: Smart

This is a balanced investment option focused on delivering medium- to long-term capital growth.

Investment option	Asset allocation	Risk level	Past 5-year performance
Balanced	Your funds are invested in a diversified portfolio with a large percentage of shares and cash, but that also features fixed interest and listed property.	High	7.49% p.a.

Option 3: Select

If you choose the Select investment category, you can then access a wide range of managed investment options, as outlined in the table below.

Investment option	Asset allocation	Risk level	Past 5-year performance
Growth	Aims to provide long-term capital growth and income built into the unit price	High	9.42% p.a.
High Growth	Aims to provide an even higher level of long-term capital growth and income built into the unit price	High	12.44% p.a.
Australian Shares	Aims to match the returns of the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index	High	10.19% p.a.
International Shares (Hedged)	Aims to match the return of the international share market measured by the MSCI World ex-Australia Index, hedged in Australian Dollars	High	13.32% p.a.
International Shares	Aims to match the return of the international share market measured by the MSCI World ex-Australia Index	Very High	15.59% p.a.
Australian Listed Property	Aims to match the return of the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index	Medium	11.63% p.a.
Australian Fixed Interest	Aims to match the return of the Bloomberg AusBond Composite Bond Index	Medium	3.09% p.a.
International Fixed Interest (Hedged)	Aims to match the return of the Citigroup World Government Bond Index ex-Australia, 100% hedged to Australian dollars	Medium	3.92% p.a.

Option 4: Shares

If you select this investment option, you can trade direct shares and ETFs on the ASX.

Investment Option	Asset allocation	Risk level	Benchmark
Direct Shares	Provides you with direct access to the S&P/ASX 200 and to selected ETFs and listed investment companies on the ASX	Very high	N/A

*All investment performance correct as of 30 September 2017. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.

Fees

Before deciding whether ING Direct Living Super is right for you, make sure you’re aware of any fees that apply. Fees vary depending on the investment category you select, as outlined below.

Safe

• Administration fee: $60 p.a. charged at $5 per month, plus Operational Risk Financial Requirement fee of 0.03-0.14%
• Investment fee: Nil
• Indirect cost ratio: Nil

Smart

• Administration fee: $60 p.a. charged at $5 per month, plus an administration fee of 0.64% p.a. of your account balance in the Smart category
• Investment fee: 0.25% p.a. of Smart category account balance
• Buy/sell spread: 0.06-0.07%
• Indirect cost ratio: 0.01% p.a.

Select

• Administration fee: $60 p.a. charged at $5 per month, plus an administration fee of 0.64% p.a. of your account balance in the Select category
• Investment fee: 0.25% p.a. of Select category account balance
• Buy/sell spread: 0.07-0.13%
• Indirect cost ratio: Ranges from nil to 0.08% p.a. depending on investment option chosen

Shares

• Administration fee: $60 p.a. charged at $5 per month, plus an administration fee of 0.64% p.a. of your account balance in the Shares category
• Brokerage: $20 or 0.13% per trade (whichever is greater)
• Indirect cost ratio: Nil
• Premium market research (optional): $20 per month

Insurance

ING Direct Living Super comes with three levels of insurance:

• Automatic cover. A pre-approved level of death and Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) cover is issued when you open an account. You can cancel or upgrade this insurance plan anytime.
• Tailored cover. If you would like a tailored insurance policy to suit you, you may want to consider this cover. You can choose between death, TPD or both.
• Income protection. This is added protection to insure a portion of your income in case you can't work for a period of time due to illness or injury.

Pros and Cons

How do I apply?

You can sign up for an ING Living Super account in two ways:

• Online. You can fill out an online application form within minutes by clicking the green "Go to Site" button.
• Over the phone. You can phone ING 8am-8pm, Monday to Friday and 9am-5pm Saturday (AEST/AEDT).

To open an account you will need to:

• Be an Australian resident
• Be aged 13 or over
• Have your Tax File Number (TFN) handy
• Choose your investment and insurance options

If you’ve compared a range of super funds and you’re ready to open an ING Living Super account click the green “Go to Site button” on this page to begin the application process.

DISCLAIMER: This article may contain general advice. You should consider your own personal circumstances before deciding if a superannuation product is right for you. Superannuation is a long term investment and past performance is not indicative of future performance.