Ethos CRS

It’s harder than it looks for superannuation funds that want to write clear documents.

Using the online readability application VisibleThread, we measured 3 attributes of text: the Flesch-Kincaid grade level, active voice and sentence length. We used these metrics to generate the Ethos CRS readability score.

A score of 100 would mean the document has met our benchmark for readability and is relatively easy to read.

The results?

Well, super funds have a way to go.

CareSuper produced the most readable suite of documents. Their documents scored an average of 49.4.

Australian Super and HESTA tied for second place. Their suite of documents each generated a readability score of 49.2.

The average score for the documents was 45.6, which tells us that content did not meet Ethos CRS’ established benchmarks for readability.

In producing The 2021 readability scorecard: Australian superannuation funds, Ethos CRS was guided by two starting points:

• Fund members should be able to easily read what their funds put in writing.
• Clarity helps members make informed financial decisions.

Most working Australians have a super fund, but research informs us that only 1 in 2 adult Australians are financially literate. All super funds face the challenge of delivering complex information to a diverse range of members.

Members of any super fund can reasonably expect to understand how their investment is managed, their options, rights and responsibilities. Producing readable content is an important first step if super funds are to address this challenge.

The task may not be easy, but it would be invaluable. By producing clear, readable documents, super funds create a social and financial pay-off –a better life for members.

We hope the scorecard is received in the spirit of Don Watson’s ‘Death Sentence’. Watson’s critique of the decay of public language is captured in a call to action: ‘When the words are suspicious, go after them, insist they tell us what they mean.’

To know more about readability and clear writing, contact us at service@ethoscrs.com.au or 02 6247 2225.