CONTENTS Dealing with tough investment markets Administration update Investment returns Quarterly SG contributions Would you like to see more of us? Office locations Are you sending your communications to the right place?

February 2009 Welcome In this edition of the Employer Newsletter, we look at the considerations for investors in these difficult investment conditions and we provide some administration updates. As usual, we update you on how the Scheme has performed.

We value your feedback, so please feel free to send us your comments or any suggestions on what articles you'd like to see in future newsletters by emailing: employerservices@eisuper.com.au

Dealing with tough investment markets

As you would already know, we are in the midst of a severe downturn in domestic and international share markets. This market downturn was triggered by the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the US and had massive flow-on effects causing problems in the global banking and business sectors and for many governments around the world. As a result we now see many economies falling into recession.

An important point to make is that the extent of the economic meltdown, which is now commonly referred to as the global financial crisis, was not foreseen by most financial commentators and analysts. It is fair to say that even when the economy and investment markets are relatively stable it is difficult to forecast the returns that members will receive in superannuation. With the unprecedented events that have occurred it has become impossible to predict when an economic recovery might take place and therefore when investment returns might improve.

It should be noted however that Governments and regulators here and abroad are engaging in substantial stimulus measures. The Australian Government recently announced a further stimulus package which may assist investment and employment. On the same day the Reserve Bank of Australia announced a 1% reduction in the cash rate to 3.25% and it is hoped that this will also stimulate the economy;

So what should members do?

Superannuation for most investors is a long-term investment and sticking to a well-diversified, quality portfolio in line with your goals and risk profile remains the soundest long-term strategy. Whilst it may be tempting to be defensive in these times and to reduce exposure to growth assets (e.g. by moving investments to cash), such a strategy is unlikely to meet most investors' long-term targets.

History has also shown that investors who change asset allocation based on guesswork about whether the market is rising or falling (i.e. timing the market) rarely succeed. That's because they often crystallise losses by selling when asset prices are low and rejoin the market after asset prices have already begun their recovery.

If you or your staff members are concerned, we highly recommend that you talk to one of our qualified financial planners about their investment strategy. We are also able to conduct seminars for staff on your premises where investment issues can be discussed.

Call the Energy Industries Superannuation Scheme on 1300 369 901 for further information.

Administration update

Advice of new members

You can advise the Scheme of any new employees at the same time you provide their first contribution or you can advise us separately. Please ensure that you include their full given names and surnames, date of birth, address, date they entered your employ and their Tax File Number.

If members wish to complete an Application for Membership form, please advise them that only the latest version of the form is acceptable and this can be downloaded from our website at www.eisuper.com.au. Please note we will not accept old versions of this form.

Contribution files

Please ensure that contribution files do not include formulas in the contributions fields. When the formulas are converted to values to two decimal places, discrepancies between file totals and the contribution payments can occur.

Members turning age 70

Please note that we issue advice to employers for those Accumulation Scheme members who will be turning age 70 in the coming quarter so that you do not remit Superannuation Guarantee once they turn age 70. Please ensure you take note of this advice to avoid the need to refund or re-allocate these contributions.

We will also be issuing an alert to employers for Retirement Scheme members who will be turning age 70 to remind you to provide an Employment Termination advice in respect of these members using the date they turn age 70 as the Scheme Exit date.

Division B annual salary review spreadsheets are due

In early December, we sent you the '2008 Salary Listing' in an excel file format, together with explanatory documentation, and asked you to update it as part of the Retirement Scheme's 2008 Annual Salary Review process.

This information is needed to enable us to process the new salaries, combine them with members' newly elected percentage rates and calculate all member contribution rates in time for the new superannuation year commencing 1 April 2009.

If you haven't already done so, please return the salary listing to us as soon as possible.

Investment returns

Returns for Contributor Financed Benefit - Retirement Scheme
As at December 2008

Strategy	Quarterly Returns
High Growth	-15.7%
Trustee Selection*	-14.5%
Diversified	-12.3%
Balanced	-9.4%
Capital Guarded	-6.7%
Cash Plus	0.7%

All figures are shown to one decimal place. Returns may vary slightly between Divisions of the Scheme.
* Available to Retirement Scheme members only.

Returns for Accumulation Scheme
As at December 2008

Strategy	Quarterly Returns
High Growth	-15.0%
Diversified	-11.8%
Balanced	-9.1%
Capital Guarded	-6.4%
Cash Plus	0.7%

All figures are shown to one decimal place. Returns may vary slightly between Divisions of the Scheme.

Quarterly SG contributions

All employers under the SG scheme must contribute the minimum level of 9% of each eligible employee's earning base in super support for each financial year. The Superannuation Guarantee contribution is required to be contributed on at least a quarterly basis. From 1 July 2008, your employees' earning base is their ordinary times earnings (OTE).

The following describes the ATO deadlines for employer contributions and the penalties that may apply if employers do not meet them. Energy Industries employers who make monthly contributions in accordance with the Scheme rules will more than satisfy these minimum requirements and will therefore avoid any of the penalties listed.

The ATO imposes penalties if SG contributions are not made by the quarterly cut-off date by applying an SG Charge (SGC)* which is made up of three parts:

• SG shortfall amounts based on OTE
• Nominal interest on that amount (10% per annum)
• Administration fee of $20 per employee per quarter.

If the SGC and the SGC statement are not submitted by the due date for lodgement additional penalties may apply and these are:

• General Interest Charge (GIC) from the SGC due date will be incurred. GIC compounds daily until SGC and accrued GIC is paid in full. The ATO can reduce the penalty. GIC is tax deductible in the year it is incurred.
• An amendment in the SG legislation, from 24 June 2008, means that if an employer makes an SG contribution to a superannuation fund which is late, the employer can elect to have this contribution used to offset against the amount of SG charge they have to pay to the ATO for not meeting their superannuation obligations. Please refer to the ATO website for further information at www.ato.gov.au.
• Penalties may also apply for false misleading statements, avoidance, failure to provide information or failure to keep SG records.

The following table obtained from the ATO lists the standard cut-off and lodgement dates.

Superannuation Guarantee quarter ended	Cut-off date for Superannuation Guarantee Contributions	Due date for lodgement of a SG statement and payment of the SG charge if contributions are not made on time
1 July - 30 Sept	28 October	28 November
1 Oct - 31 Dec	28 January	28 February**
1 Jan - 31 March	28 April	28 May
1 April - 30 June	28 July	28 August

* The SGC is not tax deductible and cannot be reduced by the ATO.
** As 28 February 2009 falls on a weekend the ATO has indicated that the due date is the next business day (2 March 2009).

Would you like to see more of us?

As part of our service to you we offer free pre-retirement seminars to your employees, either on your site or at a venue close to you. If you'd like to organise a free seminar for employees, please call 1800 636 441.

Free pre-retirement planning seminars

Pre-retirement seminars are targeted at people who are over 50 years of age and provide information on the following: