I have always been a massive believer in superannuation since hearing my dad prattle on with it waaay back in the eighties and have always made extra contributions since starting my working life. Fortunatly my husband was the same and so we both comfortably have a good amount of super so when the time comes with the sell off of our investments we are set to retire when we are ready. Even now as a stay at home mum I make regular contributions into a self manged fund I hold with an online super fund the amount is small but something is better than nothing and you can set them up online with no problems at all.
So I giggled away to myself as I said the same words to my ‘borrowed teenage girl’ who started her working life last week that my father said to me. The words that if she started superannuation now she could retire when she wanted {possibly} and to my delight she responded with a most enthusiastic ‘awesome’ and smile unlike my cousin who says he is only worried about today which make me worried who will look after his lazy arse tomorrow.
Now being the new year I thought I would give a couple of tips I have learnt about superannuation I know titillating information but so worth it you can thank me when your sitting under an umbrella on some exotic beach when your just 55 rather than 70.
1. Give your superannuation a regular health check and ensure that your employer (if you have one) is making the compulsory 9.25 per cent payments. Even though I don’t technically have an employer I have an online super fund I manage myself. Look around most of the major online institutions have them and so easy to set up.
2. Check to see if you have lost or unclaimed superannuation by visiting the ATO’s SuperSeeker website. I found an AMP super I had with a hotel I was ‘briefly’ employed with had a few hundred but that few hundred was mine not the ATO’s.
3. Consolidate your superannuation accounts if you have multiple accounts. You will cut the fees and insurance costs you are paying. At one stage I had six floating around all with varing degrees of money in them I now have three {one is a government super too good to roll over}. Probably one to many but I’m happy with it.
4. Increase your contributions to super, even $20 extra a week can make a big difference. Use the calculator moneysmart.gov.au calculator website to work out how much money you will need for a comfortable retirement. Round every thing up so instead of 7.00 make it ten it’s the easiest way to make extra contributions without breaking yourself.
5. Review your insurance cover within your super fund. You may find you are underinsured so increasing your coverage could end up saving you a lot if you become sick or injured. Husband and I sat down and worked out how much we would need if one of us were to pass away to pay out loans and have an allowance for the kids for schooling. Works out we needed a few hundred thousand and so of course we upped the amount and now should he or I pass away we are covered including providing the kids education fees.
6. If you are a stay at home parent your partner can make super contributions for you and with a portion being tax deductible and you may even be entitled to the governments co-contributions scheme.
** Again I am not a professional in any way shape or form and I highly recommend you contact your financial planner, the ATO or your accountant and this is not a paid post**
xxDeb
