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‘Working until I die’: Queensland mum locked out of retirement after losing $139,000
Exclusive: Debbie Simpson’s heart breaks when she watches friends blow out candles on their retirement cakes, travel Australia and spend precious time with grandchildren.
The 61-year-old Queensland woman cannot retire herself, even after nearly half a century in the workforce and diligent superannuation contributions.
Debbie Simpson, 61, has taken on two jobs to recover her lost money. Debbie Simpson
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Her $139,000 super balance was frozen in the First Guardian investment scheme collapse.
“I think I’m going to be working until I die,” Simpson told nine.com.au.
“I’m never going to get to travel or spend time with my grandkids or do anything... because I’m just going to be working.”
Simpson has worked in retail since she was 14.
But becoming a single mother in the 1990s meant her retirement fund was meagre compared to other Australians her age.
She decided to take better control of her finances and switch super funds in 2023 for healthier returns after speaking to a colleague.
“I did the online compare super tool, and within say 10 minutes, I received a phone call,” Simpson recalled.
Simpson said the lead generator then connected her to a financial advisor from Rhys Reilly, an authorised representative of Interprac.
She alleges an advisor said she could “double her money” if she switched her $116,273 superannuation from Rest.
“I felt safe and excited about the promises ahead of me,” Simpson said in her complaint lodged with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
The Queensland mum now feels locked out of retirement. Debbie Simpson
Along with taking this advice, she also added extra contributions to keep her fund healthy.
“Every time I didn’t buy a coffee, I put money into another bank account, and when it added up, I transferred it over to my super,” Simpson explained.
“I should have just had the coffee, I guess.”
Nearly two years after switching her super, Simpson heard about the First Guardian collapse.
Before this, her entire balance had been transferred into YourChoice super, which was invested into First Guardian Growth Strategies Fund.
Nearly 6000 Australian investors lost a total of $446 million when First Guardian went into liquidation.
“I had never heard of this name before,” Simpson said.
“I didn’t even know that it was part of it.”
Simpson desperately tried to transfer her money from YourChoice, which later migrated to Praemium.
Nine.com.au is not suggesting any wrongdoing by Praemium.
The amount left in Simpson’s super fund after First Guardian collapsed. Debbie Simpson
In a statement to the ASX, Praemium said it “is focused on supporting members who have been impacted and working cooperatively with industry bodies and regulators, including ASIC, whilst the legal, regulatory and recovery processes continue.”
The value of Simpson’s investment had reached $139,188.34 in 2024.
By mid-2025, Simpson’s balance had depleted to just $9. It is now sitting at around $111.
“I have nothing, everything was frozen,” she said.
“It was just too much for me. I felt like I was going to have a breakdown.”
Simpson is awaiting the result of her complaint to AFCA. Debbie Simpson
Simpson has found herself in a puddle of tears more than once over her vanishing retirement fund.
Her only option as she awaits a resolution to her complaint with AFCA is to work twice as hard to rebuild the balance.
After returning to Rest, Simpson has accumulated a small nest egg of around $30,000.
It’s certainly not enough to retire or even reduce her hours.
“I’m working in the gym at nighttime after I’ve worked all day in retail, I’m just so exhausted,” she said.
“I think if I keep a positive mindset and plan my life without that money, that’s a better option than me checking the computer and answering every scam phone call I get, hoping it’s from AFCA.”
“But it hits you when you see your other friends, and they’re on cruises and holidays and paid off their house.”
Queensland postcodes with most victims
Around 12,000 Australians have lost a total of $1.1 billion after First Guardian and Master Shield investment funds collapsed in 2025.
Many investors could still be unaware due to the complicated schemes and associated entities.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has revealed the postcodes in Queensland with the highest concentration of victims.
The suburbs with the most impacted investors are Mackay, Coomera, Pimpama, Toowoomba and Bundaberg.
Simpson lives in Coomera.
Fellow investor and advocate Melinda Kee is concerned that many victims are still unaware their retirement fund was tied up in one of the collapsed schemes.
“These are not just postcodes,” Kee said.
“These are communities… families. Retirements that have been shaken.
“Right now there are people going about their daily lives, not knowing their retirement savings may be at risk.”
ASIC investigation continues
ASIC has banned former financial advisor Rhys James Rolls Reilly from providing financial services for 10 years and has suspended the Australian financial services (AFS) licence of Conexus Group Pty Ltd (Conexus) until July 31, 2026.
ASIC alleges Reilly engaged in “serious misconduct”, including “accepting conflicted remuneration, making false or misleading statements to clients, failing to act in clients’ best interests, and prioritising his own interests over those of clients”.
It has commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against Diversa Trustees Limited, alleging failures concerning the First Guardian Master Fund.
“Diversa is the trustee of a number of APRA regulated superannuation funds,” ASIC said in a statement.
“At different times between July 2020 to July 2024, Diversa was the trustee for the Powerwrap Master Plan, Praemium SMA Superannuation Fund, YourChoice Super and Australian Practical Superannuation.”
ASIC has also commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against Interprac over alleged Shield and First Guardian failures.
ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court added that “Interprac’s alleged oversight and compliance failures exposed thousands of Australians to poor advice and significant financial risk”.
Simpson is now awaiting the result of her AFCA complaint and the multiple ongoing ASIC investigations into the First Guardian collapse.
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