The new year can bring with it a lot of positive new changes. Most of us are guilty of ignoring our superannuation, but this this year, why not include a super health check in your resolutions?
According to Industry Super Australia, the latest figures show duplicate account fees and insurance premiums have eaten into our savings by over $2 billion, lost superannuation had amounts to $17.5 billion, and one third of workers simply haven’t been paid what they are entitled to.
Industry Super Australia chief executive, Bernie Dean, said “consumers could take a few simple steps in 2019 to help set their superannuation up for the future.
“Most people don’t start thinking about superannuation until they near retirement, but early action could make a huge difference to a nest egg.
“Consumers may consider consolidating multiple accounts; claiming lost superannuation; and choosing a fund that has out-performed over the long term.
“They should also check they’re being paid the correct amount, as almost three million workers were short-changed their super in 2016,” Mr Dean said.
Whip your super into shape with these tips from Industry Super Australia:
- Look at the long-term net performance of your fund. How does it stack up? For the average income earner a 2 per cent performance gap may be a difference of around $200,000* at retirement.
- Consider consolidating multiple accounts to avoid duplicate fees and insurance premiums. In 2018, the Productivity Commission identified 10 million unintended multiple superannuation accounts – that’s one third of all super accounts.
- Check you’re being paid the super you are entitled to. Employers have three months to pay into an employee’s super account, so a wage slip may not reflect actual payment. If your super doesn’t add up, let your fund or the tax office know.
- If you’ve ever changed jobs, check if any of the lost super held by the tax office is yours. According to them, one account contains a whopping $2.2 million in unclaimed super.
*ASIC Money Smart calculator – start age 27, retire age 67, income $80,000 starting balance zero. Balance with investment returns of 4.5 per cent = $442,402. Balance with investment returns of 6.5 per cent = $663,270. Difference= $220,868 (Current dollars CPI deflated).
