Doing One Simple Thing Could Mean More Money In Retirement

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  Published: 28 Feb 2018

It's time to take control of your super and boost your funds in retirement.

Of the 14.8 million Australians with super, approximately 40% have more than one account. These Australians pay extra fees on multiple accounts and probably have a lot of trouble keeping track of their total superannuation. Does this sound like you? It’s time to take control of your super and boost your funds in retirement.

What does ‘consolidate super’ mean?

If you have ever changed jobs, chances are you have more than one super account. Consolidating your super simply means combining all of your funds into a single account. It’s surprisingly easy and you might even find some lost super along the way.

Why is consolidating my superannuation important?

In case you still need convincing, here are 3 reasons why you should consolidate your super:

1. You will only pay one set of fees, meaning that you don’t have multiple fees eating into your retirement savings.
2. There is a much smaller chance that you will end up with lost super, as you only have to keep track of one superannuation fund.
3. When you only have to keep track of one account, it is also easier to prepare and save for retirement.

There are even more steps you can take to boost your super once you’ve consolidated your accounts.

As part of this process, you’ll need to either choose or create a single superannuation account that you want to consolidate all of you money in, and this is an important choice to make.

These are some things you should consider:

• Every superannuation fund will also have slightly different exit fees and charges which could apply when you choose to move to another fund. It’s important to compare these as it may eat into your retirement savings.
• Make sure your chosen superannuation fund offers appropriate insurance options, which may be important to any issues you face with your health or investment strategy.
• Finally, if moving to a new superannuation fund always consider if it has services you want from a superannuation fund such as good performance or low fees.

Industry SuperFunds are run to profit you and provide you with the best outcome in retirement. Compare the pair to see if you could have been better off with an Industry SuperFund.

You can also use our tool to perform side by side comparisons of funds, looking at areas such as investment performance, insurance coverage and fees.

Is consolidating your super difficult?

The process to consolidating your superannuation is much easier than most people realise.

These are the simple steps you can take:

1. Choose a fund to roll others into, and open an account if you don’t already have one.
2. Gather your tax-file number and the details of your previous super fund accounts.
3. Using a form from your chosen fund, rollover other funds into chosen fund. All Industry SuperFunds can help with this step.

You can also use the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) consolidation service on myGov. Simply log in or create a new account, and the ATO can help you see the details from all of your accounts, as well as help you with the consolidation process. 

This article was first published in February 2018. The information referred to may change from the date of publication and care should be taken when relying on such information.

^*The above material, whilst correct at the time of publication may include references or statements which are no longer current.