making a death benefit claim

Start by giving us a call on 1800 813 327, Monday to Friday 8.30am–5.30pm AET. We'll ask some information about the member to confirm their account with us:

• The deceased member’s HESTA member number
• The deceased member’s full name, date of death and last known residential address
• Your name and contact details as the notified or potential claimant and the contact details of any other potential claimants.

We'll also let you know what information you'll need to provide us to submit a claim, and we'll send you a claim form to complete. You’ll be assigned a dedicated case manager who will help and guide you through the claims process.

You will need to complete a Superannuation death benefit claim form to help us understand the deceased member’s personal circumstances and who might be considered eligible to claim. We will also need:

• a certified copy of full death certificate
• a certified copy of the deceased’s proof of age document
• a certified copy of the deceased’s marriage certificate (if married)
• a certified copy of the children’s birth certificate (if any)
• a certified copy of the deceased’s Will (if any)
• a certified copy of the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration (if any)
• Certifying your identification form (pdf)

When you have everything ready, please scan and email or post to:

Email: hesta@hesta.com.au

Postal Address: HESTA, Locked Bag 5136, Parramatta NSW 2124

We'll get in touch

When we receive completed claim form, we'll look at the information provided together with the late member’s account information, like beneficiary nominations and insurance entitlements. Your case manager will contact you to talk about what will happen next, or to ask for extra information. They'll let you know the expected timeframes of your claim and keep you updated on the claim status.

Account balance

When we receive formal notification of death, we’ll switch the member's investment options to the HESTA Cash and Term Deposits investment option so the account balance is less likely to be impacted by any investment market movements.

We'll identify all potential beneficiaries who may have a claim to the death benefit, including any nomination the member may have made.

If the member held insurance cover, we will lodge a claim with our insurer to assess whether any insurance benefit is payable. Our insurer might ask for more information, which we will contact you about. It's best to provide this as soon as possible to avoid any delays.

What happens if the insurer approves the insured benefit?

An approved insured benefit will be added to the member's account effective the date it's received from the insurer and will be invested in the Cash and Term Deposit investment option.

What happens if the insurer declines the claim?

If the insurer declines the claim, they'll write to us to let us know the reasons for their decision.

We'll review the proposed decision, and we may ask you to provide any extra information.

Any new information must be received by our insurer within 28 days for them to consider before reaching their decision. They'll let us know their decision and if we disagree, we'll ask for clarification or object to the decision.

If we agree with the insurer's final decision, we'll let all potential beneficiaries know in writing. We’ll let them know about other steps they can can take if they disagree.

If a claimant isn't happy with the final decision, they can make a complaint to us. We'll always try to resolve complaints. But if we can't, the claimant can make a complaint to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).

We aim to assess and pay claims as quickly as possible upon receiving information and supporting documents. It can take less time if all the information is provided straight away, or it can take longer if there are delays. Delays can include things like appointing a Legal Personal Representative for the Estate, providing certified documents, conflicts of claimants, and locating multiple potential beneficiaries.

If we receive any new information, it generally takes 5 business days for the case manager to review. If no further information is needed, the claim will be referred to the HESTA Trustee to decide who will receive the benefit and in what proportion. We can only make a final decision once we confirm all possible and eligible beneficiaries.

Once a decision is made, we’ll notify all parties of the outcome in writing. In some cases we will give the parties 28 days to agree or object to the outcome and if no objections are received within 28 days, or if everyone agrees, the benefit will be paid to the beneficiary(s).

If an objection is made, we’ll review the claim and either confirm or change our decision. If a claimant is still unhappy, they can submit an objection to AFCA for an independent review. AFCA have strict timeframes of 28 days from the date of our decision to lodge an objection.

The benefit will not be paid while a claim is in progress with AFCA. If this happens, your case manager will update you regularly on how the claim is progressing. You can also contact them any time for an update.

Where a 28-day period has been provided for objection, we will make the payment after the final 28-day period if we don't receive any objections.

Where no further objections are made to the decision, the benefit will be paid. Generally, we won't pay the death benefit unless all issues are resolved.

Once the Trustee has decided, the death benefit is paid as either:

• a lump sum: to an individual or split between multiple parties
• an income stream or rollover: some dependants can have a death benefit paid this way.