Proposed transfer of the life insurance business of Macquarie Life Limited ABN 56 003 963 773 (Macquarie Life) to Resolution Life Australasia Limited ABN 84 079 300 379 (Resolution Life Australasia)
Notice of Intention
Macquarie Life and Resolution Life Australasia give notice of their intention to make an application to the Federal Court of Australia (Federal Court) for confirmation of a scheme under Part 9 of the Life Insurance Act 1995 (Cth) to transfer the life insurance business of Macquarie Life to Resolution Life Australasia (the Scheme). The proposed effective date of the transfer is 12:01am (AEST) on 1 November 2022 (Effective Time). The application is scheduled to be heard at 10.15am AEST on 5 October 2022, or on such other time or date as the Federal Court appoints.
The hearing will be heard at the New South Wales Registry of the Federal Court, located at Law Courts Building, Queen’s Square, Sydney.
Affected policy owners have the right to attend the hearing and can request to be heard by the Court.
If the Scheme is confirmed by the Federal Court, then it is proposed that with effect from the Effective Time, Resolution Life Australasia will assume all of Macquarie Life’s rights and liabilities in relation to all life insurance policies issued by Macquarie Life. The contractual benefits and rights of Macquarie Life policy owners will remain unchanged, other than:
1.1 a change to the insurer;
1.2 a change to the relevant statutory fund;
1.3 changes to the terms and conditions of the Macquarie Life Policies (so that their operation aligns with existing Resolution Life Australasia products). The changes are summarised as follows:
(a) for post-retirement, allocated annuity policyholders a change to the frequency at which printed statements will be provided, from half-yearly to yearly printed statements (in accordance with Resolution Life Australasia’s usual practices), noting that Resolution Life Australasia is able to provide online access to policy information throughout the year;
(b) for pre-retirement, deferred annuity policyholders:
(i) a change to the frequency of printed statements, consistent with the changes described at 1.3(a) above; and
(ii) a change to the annuity benefit paid on Flexible Rollover Funds Policies, from a fixed dollar non-indexed lifetime annuity to an annuity set by the Annuitant that is withdrawn from an investment fund.
There are also some operational changes to the way the policies will be administered, which are outlined in the Scheme Documents, which are available for review as outlined below.
If you are affected by the Scheme
Any policy owner who may be affected by the Scheme is entitled to attend the court hearing for confirmation of the Scheme and request to be heard on the application. If you wish to be heard at the hearing, please contact the lawyers for Resolution Life Australasia, Gilbert + Tobin (attention: Tim Gordon & Catherine Kelso), L35, Tower Two, International Towers Sydney 200 Barangaroo Avenue, Barangaroo NSW 2000 (telephone 02 9263 4000) at least three days before the hearing date.
If you wish to obtain further information on your rights as a policy owner or if you have any questions about the Scheme, please contact: (a) for Macquarie Life policy owners: 1800 025 063; or (b) for Resolution Life Australasia policy owners: 133 731.
A copy of the Scheme document, a summary of the Scheme, a Legal Opinion from Senior Counsel, the actuarial reports upon which the Scheme is based, and an independent actuarial report on the Scheme (Scheme Documents) can be viewed online at:
- www.macquarie.com.au/maclifetransfer; and
- https://resolutionlife.com.au/MLLtransfer.
A Scheme summary has been sent to affected Macquarie Life policy owners.
These Scheme Documents will also be available for inspection between 9am and 5pm each weekday from 29 August 2022 to 19 September 2022 (inclusive) at the following places (except public holidays in the relevant State or Territory or insofar as any of the places are situated in an area affected by a public health order made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic which restricts the movement of persons):
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY Chamberlains Law Firm Level 8, 224 Bunda Street Canberra City, ACT 2601 Contact: Reception, Norisha Young
NEW SOUTH WALES Gilbert + Tobin Level 35, Tower Two International Towers Sydney 200 Barangaroo Avenue Barangaroo NSW 2000 Contact: Reception, Harris Kershaw
VICTORIA Gilbert + Tobin Level 25, 101 Collins St Melbourne VIC 3004 Contact: Reception, Natasha Liyange
WESTERN AUSTRALIA Gilbert + Tobin Level 16 Brookfield Place Tower Tower 2, 123 St Georges Terrace Perth WA 6000 Contact: Reception, Lara Borshoff
| QUEENSLAND Clyde & Co Level 22, 12 Creek St, Brisbane QLD 4000 Contact: Reception, David Mataitoga
SOUTH AUSTRALIA DMAW Lawyers Level 10, 81 Flinders St Adelaide SA 5000 Contact: Reception, Tasha Naige
TASMANIA Dobson Mitchell Allport 59 Harrington St Hobart TAS 7001 Contact: Reception, Tim Bugg
NORTHERN TERRITORY HWL Ebsworth Level 9, Mitchell Centre 59 Mitchell St Darwin NT 0800 Contact: Reception, Tony Morgan
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Any Macquarie Life policy owner and any Resolution Life Australasia policy owner may obtain a copy of the Scheme Documents free of charge, from the above offices during the inspection period, or by calling 1800 025 063 (for Macquarie Life policy owners) or 133 731 (for Resolution Life Australasia policy owners).
It is in the interests of policy owners to examine the Scheme Documents so as to assure themselves that the Scheme, if confirmed, will not adversely affect their interests.
If you have any questions
Please contact our Contact Centres on 1800 025 063 (for Macquarie Life policy owners) or 133 731 (for Resolution Life Australasia policy owners) if you have any questions in relation to the proposed transfer under the Scheme, or if you require further information on your rights as a policy owner.