Depending on your financial circumstances, the 9.5% Superannuation Guarantee payments may not be enough for your retirement. If this is the case, there are a number of strategies you can use to really grow your super balance.
1. Consolidation
If you’ve had more than one job in your life, chances are you have may have more than one super account – you may have even 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 clear view of your super and really start to make your money work for your retirement.
2. Government Co-Contribution
With the Government’s super co-contribution scheme, if you are eligible you will receive $1 from the Government for every after-tax dollar you contribute to super up to a maximum of $500.
3. Salary Sacrifice
A tax 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.
4. Find Lost Super
There are over 6 million lost super accounts with a total value of approx. $13bn. Some of that $13bn could be your money, and it could be working harder if consolidated with your current account. 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.