Super forms part of your overall employment package. It is not taken from your wages – it’s paid on top of your salary.
Employers must pay super contributions calculated as at least 9% of your wages into your super account.
And because the Government wants you to save more for retirement, it provides tax breaks and other incentives to help grow your super savings.
Your super is stored away until you retire. In general, you can’t withdraw your super until you reach a certain age, usually 55 years or over.
To get the most out of your super:
- Choose a Fund that has low fees and strong long term performance to make sure your super grows as much as possible. If you don’t choose a super fund, your employer will put your super into an account that they choose.
Download the Choose AustralianSuper form
- Keep all your super together in one account – if you change jobs, make sure you continue to use the fund you chose. This way you won’t pay extra fees – which over a 30 year period can make a big difference. If you already have more than one account, you can combine your super into one, low fee, strongly performing account.
Download the Combine your super form
- Add a little extra to your super as soon as you can – adding extra to your super early in your working life means that compounding interest will help your balance grow.
Log in to make a paymentTake advantage of government incentives – depending on how much you earn:
- you can either use salary sacrifice to gain from lower tax rates or
- have the government match your after tax contributions with the government co-contribution (up to a limit of $1,000).
If you’re over 55 you can also consider a tax effective over 55's saving strategy, called Transition to Retirement that allows you to save more for retirement.