GESB Superannuation

Government Employees Superannuation Board (GESB) Super is a specialist super provider. It is the largest super fund in Western Australia and membership is open to WA public sector employees. It is currently the default super fund for WA public sector employees.

Types of GESB super accounts

GESB Super

GESB Super is the main product available to new members joining on or after 16 April 2007. Those who joined the fund before 16 April 2007 might have been signed up for the West State Super, Gold State Super or WA Public Sector Pension schemes; these funds are now closed to new members. GESB Super members have access to a range of investment options. You can choose from five Readymade diversified plans or a mix of five different asset classes (Mix Your plan). The Readymade options are:

My GESB Super plan: This is the default plan which new members who don’t make a choice are invested in. GESB says this option has a high level of investment risk and that the ideal investment timeframe is at least seven years.
Growth plan: This plan mostly invests in growth assets, such as Australian and international shares. As such, GESB says it is suited for members with a long-term investment time frame of at least 10 years.
Balanced plan: This option has a lower investment risk than the Growth plan and has an ideal investment timeframe of at least six years.
Conservative plan: This plan invests in more defensive than growth assets, and as such is less risky than the Balanced and Growth plans, though it also has lower investment return objectives than these options. GESB says this option is suited to members with an investment time horizon of at least five years.
Cash plan: This option is entirely invested in cash assets and is classified as low-risk. GESB says short-term investors may find this investment option suitable.

The Mix Your plan allows members to invest their super in a mixture of one or more of the following five asset classes:

Australian Shares
International Shares
Property
Fixed Interest
Cash

Some of the other features offered by GESB include:

Automatic Death, Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) and Salary Continuance Insurance (SCI) cover. Members who are eligible under GESB’s Professional and Executive occupation category might be entitled to lower insurance premiums. As with any insurance product, consider checking the cover amount, any exclusions, limitations or other conditions that may apply, as well as the premiums you would be charged before deciding whether it suits your needs.
Retirement Income (RI) Allocated Pension and Transition to Retirement Pension accounts available to all current and former GESB members and their partners. Members from before 2007 may have an RI Term Allocated Pension.
Online account access
Access to online webinars and face-to-face seminars on a range of super topics
Access to My Money Dream for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members. This is an online programme designed by First Nations peoples to help you learn about budgeting, banking, insurance and super.

How to join GESB Super

Before committing to a particular fund, consider comparing your options with Canstar and checking out our choosing a super fund checklist. You can also read GESB Super’s product disclosure statement (PDS), which could help you decide whether its product offering is suitable for your needs.

GESB Super is the default fund for WA public sector employees. As such, if you join the WA public sector and don’t nominate another super fund, you’ll have a GESB Super account opened for you.

GESB Super FAQs

GESB Super offers a choice of 10 investment options at the time of writing. These are made up of five diversified options and five single asset class options.

You can choose to invest in one of the diversified options or a combination of any of the single asset class options. You can also change investment plans for no fee, according to GESB.

If you don’t make a decision as to how your money will be invested, GESB Super says members will be invested into the My GESB Super plan.

For more details on what each GESB Super investment option entails, you can contact GESB Super or read the PDS and other documentation on its website.

GESB Super charges a variety of fees to its members in return for managing their superannuation savings. At the time of writing, some of its fees include:

Administration fees of $66 per year ($5.50 per month), plus 0.20% of your account balance each month.
Insurance fees, if you have insurance cover through your super. The cost will depend on your age, gender, occupation and amount of cover, GESB says.

Bear in mind that other fees may apply. Consider checking GESB Super’s product disclosure statement (PDS) and other product documentation for details. You can also compare the annual fees for GESB Super’s default investment option to other super funds’ fees on Canstar’s database.

GESB Super says the quickest way to consolidate your super is via your myGov account, by linking your account to the ATO and then selecting ‘Super’, then ‘Manage’, then ‘Transfer super’ (which will only appear if you have more than one account). You can also combine your super using your GESB Member Online account or by completing a Super consolidation form.

It’s important to check with your current super fund(s) for information regarding any related costs you may incur and any insurance cover you may lose if you switch super funds. Also consider whether consolidating your super is a suitable decision for your life stage and retirement goals.

The Government Employees Superannuation Board (GESB) is a statutory body that was created in 1939 to provide superannuation and retirement services for members of the Western Australian public sector. GESB Super is the default super fund for WA public sector employees.