SUPERANNUATION by Paul Inglis
Superannuation - Australian Taxation Office
Superannuation - australia.gov.au
AUSfund - find your lost super
Taxpayers Australia - Superannuation Australia
Specialists for Health and Community Services - HESTA ...
ING Australia > Investment > Insurance > Superannuation
Australian Government, Choice of superannuation fund
Thousands upon thousands of Australian employees and employers have billons of dollars in unclaimed or lost (superannuation) Super. So how do you know if you are one of the 4.3 million Australian with unclaimed or lost Superannuation, who have every right to claim this pool of almost 4.3 billion dollars?
Anybody who has worked for any amount of time at one stage or another has had employer contributed superannuation funds deposited into one of the many hundreds of superannuation funds now operating In Australia. Have you kept track of all the funds deposited into your Super fund?
Like most of us, you have had a least 4 to 8 fulltime or partime jobs in your career and with each job you have had super added to a Superannuation fund normally decided by your employee. Each year you may get a notice from the super fund stating how much money you have invested with them and now you should also get a statement on your pay slip, stating how much super has been deposited in your fund.
But none the less most of us would have no idea how much lost or unclaimed superannuation we have and even less knowledge of who is managing it and who is the funds with.
But, you can know find out and in most cases it totally free to find it. If you don't have the time to find it yourself you could employ a company to do it for you, and pay their fee. Or you could go online, go to the ATO website, and do a search for unclaimed or lost superannuation. Then add your details and they will tell you exactly how much you have and were it is.
The Australian Tax Office has a service they call SuperSeeker which searches the ATO Super database for contributions made by you based on your personal tax file number. The greatest benefit of this service, is that it can be done online and is in realtime.
To find Superannuation you may have forgot about or just wasn't sure the amount, visit https://superseeker.super.ato.gov.au/individuals/default.aspx?pid=0. You will need your tax File Number, date of birth and your full name.
It's your money, so go and get it.
Steve Szasz is the Webmaster and Managing Director of Finance Unlimited Australia. His website is one or Australias most popular resource website for Finance, Insurance and Superannuation.
The superannuation industry in Australia is going through a remarkable period of growth and media awareness. (We have all seen the recent frenzy of advertising activity, press and TV coverage.)
Today, ordinary people are now realising that a Government pension won't give them the lifestyle they want in the years when they are not earning an income. The need to save money for the future is more than a hot topic, it has become a big wake up call to millions of workers who have low superannuation savings.
The standard superannuation contribution by employers is currently 9% of your salary, but the reality is this is not enough to cover basic living expenses and bills in retirement, never mind that elusive trip of a lifetime overseas.
So how about some easy ways to grow superannuation? Here are five top suggestions.
1) Regular contributions really add up.
Starting early pays off. By putting more money each week into your superannuation account, (in addition to the 9% employer contribution) the difference can be remarkable. For example: if you added $50 a week starting from the age of 25, this grows to over $160,000 extra by age 60.
2) Hold a garage sale. Turn trash into treasure.
No spare cash? Look around your house for old furniture, sporting goods and electrical items. Put the proceeds from your weekend sale into super. Your contribution will earn compound interest until retirement.
3) 3 million Australians have unclaimed superannuation. Are you one them? Go to www.unclaimedsuper.com.au
One in three workers have unclaimed super. It's a huge statistic. In total, there's AU$7.2 billion, or an average of AU$1,600 per account waiting to be claimed by Aussie workers. It may not seem a large amount, but if you dropped $10 in the street, you'd quickly pick it up! What's more, this is a no cost service and it also allows you to transfer old super into your current superannuation account.
4) Roll your super into one fund. Pay less fees.
If you have worked casually or moved around from State to State, you may have several superannuation accounts with low balances - and you're paying fees for each one of them. Fees are taken from any investment returns you have made which mean less money in your account. The higher your fees are, the harder your fund's investments need to work to provide adequate returns.
It makes sense to consolidate all your balances into one account. One fund is easier to manage. Less paperwork to worry about. And of course, you save on paying fees. It is important to look around and select funds which charge low to reasonable fees.
5. Choice of Fund. Your personal situation.
On July 1st 2005, a major industry initiative took place with the launching of "Choice of Fund". Are you one of the many eligible workers who can make a new choice about which fund you belong to and where your super is invested?
A word of advice, do your homework. Don't just listen to your mate Bob!
Compare industry performance and past results. Look at the entry fees and exit charges you may have to pay. Review member benefits such as life insurance coverage. (Will you need a new medical to get the same coverage you currently have?)
Changing funds could be a good move, or may not improve your returns at all.
The final tip. Whatever you do with your super, think super carefully.
(Calculations assume growth of 6.25% and inflation of 3%, which are common industry assumptions in Australia.)
Tony Kent heads up Options Strategy a well-known Internet Marketing Consultancy based in Melbourne, Australia. He is a regular conference presenter. Cathy Howley is the Copywriter and Creative Manager. Visit www.options-strategy.com
Superannuation is an Australian government-regulated investment vehicle designed to provide retirement benefits to Australian citizens and residents in the form of compulsory contributions made during their working career.
Changes introduced in July of 2005 allowed Australians to select a superannuation fund of their choice based on their preferred investment strategies and their confidence in the fund to provide the levels of returns expected from their investments.
A significant factor to consider during the choice of funds is the number and amount of fees charged for the maintenance of each account as part of the fund.
Higher fees do not in any way correlate to higher returns. For some funds, higher fees are introduced for additional flexibility, investment options and services. Many retail funds will also charge higher fees to cover the costs of advertising and marketing.
Typical fees charged by superannuation funds include contribution fees which are incurred each time a contribution is made, exit fees for withdrawing money from or leaving the fund, ongoing fees and investment fees which are paid to the investment manager.
Because the idea of superannuation is to maximize your benefit upon retirement, it is important to select funds which charge low to reasonable fees.
Fees, in effect, are taken out from any investment returns you have made which means less money in your pocket at the end of the day. The higher your fees are, the harder your fund investments will need to work to provide adequate returns.
Calculations have shown that even a 1% percent increase in fees could result in 20% less money for you to retire with. Depending on the level of income during your working life, this could be in the vicinity of tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
To find out about all possible charges and fees associated with a fund, be sure to obtain a copy of their product disclosure statement which should be issued to you upon request.
Product disclosure statements are required to disclose all applicable fees in a standard format and also provide an example of the calculation of these fees.
If your fund cannot provide you with a copy of this document,
you should be wary of their practices and strongly consider
using another fund.
Jonathan Bailey is the author of
Industry Super Funds,
DIY Super Funds
and
Superannuation Funds.