Industry researchers also in the dark on Southern Cross benefit

Russell Hutchinson of industry consulting firm Chatswood Consulting says in a blog post that his team had been unaware of the $60,000 a year benefit's removal in late 2020 until alerted by adviser Jon-Paul Hale of  Willowgrove Consulting.

Hutchinson also pointed to Good Returns' subsequent stories on the matter.

“We know that when an insurer makes changes like this one, they may not want to shout it from the rooftops,” Hutchinson says.

“We would rather that we picked this up ourselves in 2020 but, in the midst of a pandemic and regular lockdowns, this update was missed,” he says.