Keep Track Of Your Super

As we move forward in our working lives, it’s hard enough to juggle daily tasks and basic requirements, but have you ever stopped to think about your Super? As you progress in life, you should have some comfort knowing your Superannuation is too, right?

Well for most of us, we’re too busy to worry about things like the facts, the figures, the reposts, the tax statements, etc. It’s just easier for someone else to do it for us. But if you ever wanted to know more about how you can manage your retirement fund or maybe you just want to brush up on your bookkeeping skills, here are a few things we’d recommend.

Ask yourself, is this Super right for you? Take a look at what’s on offer. Do they support your needs/requirements? It’s important to shop around before taking the plunge. Some people choose to stick to one Super Fund whilst others have many funds, meaning more account keeping fees. This happens when people start new jobs and choose to go through the employer’s Super Fund. Which is why some people choose to merge or transfer Supers into new ones. It reduces costs on your end and saves you in the long term.

Also, if you’re looking for the best performing Super Funds (with a seven-year return on average) rated by Canstar, here are the top six:

First, we cannot stress enough how up to date your statements, beneficiaries (including digital & printed) and personal details should be. This means everything from changing residents to changing employers or even Super funds. If things in your life change, it’s imperative that your details should too, otherwise this may affect your financial future long term. Last year (2018), it was revealed by the ATO that over $17.5 billion in lost super had not yet been claimed. Some of this was due to people not merging their Super Funds and not being up to date. Please make sure yours isn’t one of them by speaking Shoebox Books or your Super Fund. Again, it’s important that you consolidate your Super into one account to avoid paying ridiculously high maintenance/administration fees. These fees could end taking huge chunks of your hard-earned cash.

 

Are you wanting to buy your first home or wanting to boost your funds? Whatever your future plans may be, it’s important you understand how to adjust your salary. When you Salary Sacrifice, you are asking to have more than the average amount to be placed into your Super Fund. This can depend on how much you earn and at what type of employment you have (Preferably Permanent Full Time or Part Time employment). If you wanted to Salary Sacrifice for the First Home Buyers Scheme, Canstar says that first home buyers can withdraw a maximum of 30k for a down payment on a house. However, in order to boost your funds to reach that golden 30k, it’s important you speak to your employer about an ‘Employer Super Contribution’. Once applied to your Super Fund, it will be taxed at a rate of up to 15% by the ATO. According to Canstar, this isn’t enough to break your Super Fund, so you can save smart, not faster for the long term. However, due to the contributions cap, you can only contribute the maximum amount of 25k.

There are also other things to consider like your insurance cover and your beneficiaries. AMP Limited believes benefits like income protection (if you’re made redundant), injury cover, funeral insurance and also those who benefit from you financially (should anything happen to you) should be updated regularly in order to receive them. If you don’t update these benefits, you might not be eligible to claim them when you actually need them the most. Also, it’s a good idea to review your current insurance cover to see if it’s suitable for your needs. As we stated before, when your circumstances change, so should your insurance cover.

Basically, when you contribute extra to your super fund,according to AMP, you may be eligible for a Tax deduction which means you can claim this back on your tax return. For example, if you contribute a max amount of $25k per financial year, you’ll be taxed 15%, so you’ll most likely gain most of that amount back on your return (not including account keeping fees). If you would like to have your Super Contributions be tax deducted, please contact your Super Fund to arrange this.

If you wanted to, you could manage your own bookkeeping, but there’s a lot to consider such as payroll, PAYG statements, eligible tax-deductible expenses (work clothing, computers, other technology, transport, etc.) private health insurance, medicare, investments, shares, superannuation, the list goes on. You could do this the old fashioned way by printed versions or we recommend using ShoeBox Books at a fixed price, they can manage all of the accounting and tax jargon for you.

The answer is yes, you can. It’s about the same as bookkeeping only there are very little administration fees, but it can be proven difficult. There are more cons than there are pros. If you decided to SMSF, even if you hire Super accountants, you would still be the one responsible should anything happen to your nest egg. MoneySmart recommends choosing a reliable and reputable Super Fund to handle the jargon for you (as mentioned prior).

When it comes to Super, the best thing you can do is to work smarter not harder whilst also seeking out professional assistance from Superannuation Specialists. Finding a suitable Super Fund and maintaining an income can be hard at times, so it doesn’t hurt to do a bit of research before choosing a Super Fund. However, if you’re still not convinced, contact the professionals at Shoebox Books for the best advice to help you gain more out of your Super.