Hugh Schuitemaker, Murray Pioneer

A Riverlander who has potentially lost more than $290,000 in savings is urging fellow locals to monitor what is happening with their superannuation funds.

A Renmark couple, who asked to be kept anonymous, were among approximately 7000 Australians who lost superannuation due to the collapse of the First Guardian Master Fund.

The man said the financial loss had left him facing an uncertain future.

“My fund was a Pension Fund, and it went from not-far short of $300,000, to $3000,” the man said.

“I’ve gone from being comfortable for a number of years, to having nothing straight away.

“(We’ve) got to start selling off all the assets. There’s ways you can lodge a complaint, but that could take forever and lead to nothing.

“It’s horrific what some of the people are going through.”

The man said he and his wife had little inclination such a large amount of their money would be lost.

“We had a message two weeks ago saying (the company) was in trouble, and they were appointing liquidators,” he said.

“That was the first we heard of it. Two weeks later we got a message what the funds would be, there was no warning.

“I can almost understand, because if they were in that sort of trouble and they let people know, it would have turned into a nightmare.”

The man encouraged fellow Riverlanders in a similar position to constantly monitor their super levels.

“When I first started work, super wasn’t compulsory, then the government brought it in,” he said.

“(The government) said it would be guaranteed at the end. That guarantee doesn’t mean much.

This article appeared in Murray Pioneer, 30 July 2025.