Most people have an account with a super fund, but do you know how it all works?
When it comes to jobs and your salary, superannuation is a package deal - literally.
Superannuation - also called super for short - is the money you build up and stash away in a fund for your retirement. And we know, we know, retirement seems yonks away. But actually, getting on top of your super early is really important.
But let’s step back a bit.
Superannuation is the part of your income that your employer pays into a super fund.
The money that your employer contributes to your super is called the super guarantee, and it’s set at 10.5% of your base salary. So, if you earn $60,000 per year, your employer will need to contribute $6,300 into your super fund each year.
This builds up over your working life so that when you retire, you rely on your super money to fund your lifestyle. We’re talkin’ road trips around Oz, presents for the grandkids...you name it.
When you start your first ever job, your new employer will need to give you a Superannuation Standard Choice Form within 28 days of working with them.
Once you have chosen a super fund, it’ll stay with you when you move jobs, thanks to new Super Stapling laws introduced by the Government. This means wherever you go, your super fund comes with you. So it's important that you've made an educated choice when selected your fund.
But thankfully, you can always change your super fund if you feel like you need to mix it up.
When you’re comparing super funds, there are a few key factors that you need to keep in mind:
You can use the Government’s YourFuture, YourSuper tool to compare the default MySuper products (aka the super funds that your employer chooses for you when you haven’t chosen one already).
When looking at performance, always remember that super is a long-term investment. Which means you may want to look at performance over a minimum of 5 years to get an idea of how your fund compares.
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