Fed: Super advice did hurt hip pocket says High Court

AAP General News (Australia)
04-20-2007
Fed: Super advice did hurt hip pocket says High Court

By Peter Veness

CANBERRA, April 20 AAP - The High Court has upheld a decision that a Canberra man was
financially disadvantaged by superannuation advice given to him by his boss in 1965.

John Griffith Cornwell was working part-time as a spray painter at a Canberra bus depot
when his manager Nelson Simpson allegedly told him he was not entitled to join a super
fund because he was only working part-time.

On March 6, 2005, the ACT Supreme Court found the commonwealth was negligent because
of the advice Mr Simpson had allegedly offered.

The federal government appealed to the High Court but today the court voted down the appeal 6-1.

Had Mr Cornwell joined the super fund in 1965, he would have been entitled, after 29
years of contributions, to a pension of 44.1 per cent of his final salary.

But because he did not join a fund until he was given full-time employment in 1987,
Mr Cornwell had only seven years' contributions which entitled him to a pension of just
12.6 per cent of his final salary.

The commonwealth argued in its appeal that Mr Cornwell had failed to act on the negligence
within the required six years because the loss had been suffered in 1976, not 1994 when
he retired.

But the court rejected the argument, saying the loss only became real when Mr Cornwell
had access to his superannuation when he retired.

In the only dissenting judgment, Justice Ian Callinan there were too many variables
in Mr Cornwell's claim for it to be upheld.

AAP pv/mfh/cjh/bwl

KEYWORD: CORNWELL

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