How can I grow my super?
Depending on your financial circumstances and the standard of living you want when you stop work, the 9% Superannuation Guarantee payments may not be enough to provide you with the income you require to be comfortable in retirement. If this is the case, there are a number of strategies you can use to really boost your super.
Consolidation
If you’ve had more than one job in your life, chances are you have a few super accounts - and you may have lost track of some of them! Consolidating your super is about finding all your super monies and moving them into one account – so you can get a clear view of your super and really start to make your money work for your retirement.
Having all your super funds together will not only save you the money by reducing multiple fees, it will also reduce the risk of you losing sight of your super again.
Government co-contributions
With the Government's super co-contribution scheme, if you are eligible and your total income is less than $31,920 (for 2009/10; indexed in subsequent years), you will receive $1 from the Government for every after-tax dollar you contribute to super up to a maximum of $1,000. The co-contribution amount decreases by 3.333 cents for every dollar earned over $31,920, until it reaches zero at $61,920 (2009/10).
Salary sacrifice
An effective way of making additional contributions to your super is through salary sacrificing. Contributions can be made from your pre-tax salary and because they’re taxed at just 15% in most cases, it can not only boost your retirement savings but it can also be a useful tax-effective investment strategy. You should consider your concessional contributions cap when undertaking salary sacrifice to super.
Find lost super
There are over 6 million lost super accounts with a total value of almost $13 billion. That could be your money, and it could be working harder. The Australian Tax Office (ATO) provides a free ‘SuperSeeker’ service to help people locate super accounts they’ve lost track of. If you’ve changed jobs more than once, chances are you’re likely to find some super money through the ATO. To use ‘SuperSeeker’, visit www.ato.gov.au/super or call the ATO on 132 865 and make sure you have your Tax File Number ready.
Learn more about Basics
- What is super?
- How do I choose a fund?
- How can I grow my super?
- How can I plan my retirement?
- When can I access my super?
For most BT Funds there is no charge for accepting rollovers; however some funds may charge fees for accepting rollovers. Therefore you should check the relevant fund PDS to see whether any rollover fees will apply. You should also check with your other fund/s to determine whether there are any exit fees for moving your benefits, or other loss of benefits (e.g. insurance cover).
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