Five ways your super hurts

Avoid costly mistakes while saving for retirement, says

MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS Sophie Elsworth

SUPERANNUATION is often put on the back-burner by many people who are left rushing to play catch-up as they near retirement.

Failing to pay close attention to superannuation from the getgo can end up having a significant impact on a person’s balance once they do stop work.

It’s not uncommon for people to never bother checking their superannuation accounts – some may not have any clue of their balance or even which fund(s) are holding on to their hard-earned cash.

Latest Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia statistics showed there are more than 28 million super accounts nationally and a whopping $2.8 trillion is held in super assets.

Latest Australian Taxation Office figures found in 2016-17 the average superannuation balance for a male was about $146,420.

However, for females it was significantly lower at $114,350.

This is usually a result of women getting paid less and taking time out of the workforce to raise children or care for elderly parents.

But as Australians get closer to retirement, their balances do improve.

For those aged 60 to 64 the average balance in 2016-17 was $270,010 for men and $157,050 for women.

It is critical we all pay attention to our super but here are five costly mistakes you could be making that will hurt your retirement fund. to administer their members’ super accounts and invest their money,” he said.

“So having more than one super account means paying more than one set of fees – in most cases for no other reason than you’ve lost track of your super as you’ve changed jobs.”

Visit mygov (my.gov.au) to find a list of all your superannuation accounts and here you can also roll them into your one chosen fund and reduce how much you are shelling out in fees.

This type of strategy aims for higher returns over the longer term but takes on more risk.

Mr Mather said choosing the right investment option at your various life stages was important.

“Even 1 per cent extra investment each year over your working life could substantially increase your super balance at retirement,” he said.

“If you’re in your 30s or 40s you probably won’t access your super savings for another 30 or more years so it’s a better strategy to choose an investment option that is likely to achieve strong returns over the long-term.”

You can switch investment options online or by phoning your fund. Figures from research firm Superratings showed for balanced funds (60 to 76 per cent growth assets), funds returned 4.8 per cent for the 12 months to May 31.