"Act now to secure your retirement! Review the 10 key items on your annual fund statement for accuracy and progress."
1. Your Personal Details
2. Your Account Balance
- To find out how much money you have in your account at the beginning and the end of the fiscal year, check the opening and closing balances.
- Over the past few years, compare your account balances as of June 30. On your annual statement, the majority of funds display this.
- Recognise the elements that go into determining your account balance:
- If you meet a criterion of release, your preservation may be withdrawn.
- When you leave your employment or fulfill another release requirement, restricted non-preserved benefits may be revoked. Usually only applies to donations that were made before July 1, 1999.
- Unrestricted non-preserved: Withdrawable whenever desired, but tax may be due.
3. Your Fees
4. Your insurance
- Check the insurance coverage that is included in your super account and the cost associated with it.
- Consider whether you need insurance protection if you don’t already have any coverage, as purchasing insurance protection through your super fund may be more affordable.
Good to know:
Your member statement’s insurance premium is not a charge.
It pays for the cost of the insurance that is included with your fund membership, which is often death and total and permanent disability (TPD) cover as well as potential income protection.
- Examine whether the level of insurance offered by your superfund is appropriate for your unique situation. This is crucial if your home situation has altered, such as with the birth of a new child, or if you and your partner have split up.
- Consider whether your present level of insurance coverage would pay off your mortgage or meet your usual expenses in the event of an emergency. It makes sense to examine your insurance coverage every year or whenever your financial situation changes.
- If you have coverage outside of super, make sure you aren’t paying for insurance you don’t require. Consider canceling one of your death or TPD policies if you also have one outside of super to save money.
- If your account was dormant, see if you lost your insurance coverage. You might need to reapply for insurance in accordance with the 2019 Protecting Your Super rules if your account didn’t receive any contributions throughout the previous fiscal year.
5. Your investment returns
- Examine the performance of your investment option this year and how your investment return stacks up against the benchmark. The investment team of the fund is doing its job if performance is comparable to or superior to that of its benchmark.
- Think about whether your expectations for a return are acceptable. If you’re not satisfied with your investment return, compare it to returns from similar super funds and the overall investing market.
- Due to a variety of outside causes, including the pandemic, the war in the Ukraine, and growing inflation in major nations, many investment markets had a challenging year and produced negative outcomes. This means that you must be realistic about investment returns and the potential of your super fund in that kind of setting. Since the majority of super funds experienced negative returns in 2021–22, switching to another fund might not yield much benefits unless your fund’s return were especially poor.
6. Your investment options
- Verify the investment choice that is indicated on your super statement. Each investment choice includes a unique mix of assets, including Australian and foreign shares, real estate, fixed interest, and cash.
- Consider whether your investment choice—high growth, balanced, conservative, or cash—reflects your present risk tolerance. Members of the fund who are younger should typically have a higher allocation to growth assets, while those who are nearing retirement should tilt toward a more defensive mix.
- Given the current economic situation and financial environment, think about whether your investment choice and level of risk are still suitable for you. Given the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 epidemic and growing inflation, you may not feel as comfortable taking more investing risks now as you did in the past.
7. Your contributions and transactions
- Review the years’ worth of transactions for your super account. Make sure it contains both the contributions made by your employer and any personal ones you may have made over the year.
- Check the fees and insurance premiums that were deducted from your account as well. Verify that your company consistently deposits Superannuation Guarantee (SG) funds into your retirement account. In the event that their SG contributions are not listed, speak with your employer or HR as soon as possible.
Need to know:
At least four times per year, your company must make SG contributions to your super account. Some employers opt to increase their superannuation contributions.
These contributions are due on the following dates each quarter: January 28, April 28, July 28, and October 28.
- Make sure your employer deposited your salary-sacrifice payments into your super account if you created a salary-sacrifice plan that covered your wages for the most recent financial year.
- Make sure your statement includes all of your individual donations, including tax-deductible and non-concessional (after-tax) contributions.
- Verify that the appropriate donation type is listed for your own contributions (such as concessional or non-concessional).
8. Your beneficiaries
- Verify the beneficiary, or beneficiaries, designated to receive your super account balance and any insurance benefits in the event of your passing. Your yearly statement will often list the word “nominated” or, if you’ve made a binding death benefit nomination, the beneficiary’s name.
- If you recently separated or have a new partner, be sure to amend your death benefit nomination so the correct individual will get your benefit in the event of your passing.
9. Your retirement Plans
- Based on the data in your member statement, ask yourself if you are on schedule for retirement. On your annual statement, many super funds now predict your expected account balance at retirement.
- Consider whether your current super contribution level will get you to your retirement savings target or if you’ll need to contribute more in the upcoming year to do so.
10. Your satisfaction
- Check to see if you are happy with your present super fund. Do the investing alternatives it provides fit your needs? How would you rate their customer service? Are the educational opportunities it provides or your insurance benefits what you need or want?
- If you have multiple super accounts, think about consolidating your retirement funds. Compare each super fund before making a choice, and be sure to look into exit fees and whether combining your existing accounts would result in the same insurance coverage.
