Good to know: How to find your super in a flash

I’ve had a lot of jobs in my life. There are far too many to note down here. What I know about starting new jobs is one of the first questions an employer asks is this:

Do you have a super account or would you like to use ours?

We’re all too busy – I know, I know…

There’s a lot to think about when starting a new job. Including the following:

What to wear
Remembering the names of everyone in the office
Getting your head around the job
Navigating through traffic and figuring out the fastest way to work and how to get there on time
What to take for lunch
Closest coffee shop with the best coffee
Organising lunches and snacks so as not to overspend

Is super on your to-do list?

For most of us, the boring topic of ‘super’ is last on our list. So we tend to answer the above question with ‘Oh, I’ll just use yours.’

The world is also a very fluid place now and employees are ‘on the move.’ With the advent of LinkedIN highly-skilled employees are getting headhunted daily. If that’s not happening, employees have more options and are just saying ‘stuff ’em – I’m moving on.’

We’re all job-hopping like mad

Here are a few stats on just how often people in this era are changing their places of employment. They’re calling it ‘job-hopping’ and it’s rife. According to HC Online, Aussies who have been in their jobs for five years or more are a ‘dying breed.’

Labour mobility was recently reported by the ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) as follows:

56% of Australia’s 11.5 million workers had been in their jobs fewer than five years
20% had been in their jobs less than a year
66% of women who left work during the year to February did so voluntarily, while only 60% of men did.
240,000 men were retrenched compared to 149,000 women
Managers (followed by professionals and clerks) were least likely to switch jobs
Sales workers were the most likely to change jobs
Most will change jobs but not occupations

Source: HC Mag

Why it’s important to find your super

Most people are familiar with the term ‘find my super.’ There’s been a big push by the ATO on this is in the past few years because job mobility has become so much more prevalent.

Here’s the big reason I found my super recently:

It’s my money and I don’t want to lose it!

And just to note. It is a super simple process and one of those ‘2-minute’ jobs I wish I’d done years ago. There’s nothing nicer than NOT getting a zillion super letters through the letterbox. And as I am constantly fighting the ‘paper war’ in my life – I was chuffed to see that pile heavily reduce.

How to find your super

Companies like Rate Detective offer very simple (and super cool may I add) tools for finding your super. Just punch your name and phone number into a box and they’ll get back to you within one business day. Then you can get on with your day and they’ll help you with the rest. There’s really nothing to agonise over. Especially when such experts are ‘on the job.’

Companies will do this for you

They will find all your lost super funds. Then they’ll consolidate them into one recognised low cost super fund. They’ll also organise the funds to be invested according to your preferences.

Reasons to consolidate

There is approximately 18 billion in lost super in Australia!
If you don’t consolidate your super you’ll be paying more than one admin fee – these all add up in lost money – by you! This can add up to thousands of dollars!
Specialists can help you with investment strategies that match your investment risk profile
Super fund fees vary greatly between funds – seek out ‘low cost’ funds

Some fast facts about super

Super is savings for your retirement or beneficiaries
There are tax concessions for investing in super (at 15%)
You can take super out as a tax-free pension
Employers have to contribute 9.25% to super and this will soon rise to 12%. This is compulsory.
Super is usually invested in shares, property and securities by super companies
You can decide what you want your super to be invested in
There are caps on concessional super and non-concessional super
There are different rules for different age groups. Learn what’s best for you.
Always get advice on making contributions or risk penalty tax up to 46.5%
The ATO will match contributions each year up to $500 a year
If you take money out of super and put it in savings you will pay tax on the savings
You can access super at your preservation age or when you turn 65.

Do this ‘2-minute’ job

If you’ve had more than one job, moved house or changed your name you could have lost super. Did you know almost half of all Australians do! Life is shorter than you think, so it’s definitely worth thinking about old age now. This is one of those ‘2-minute’ jobs you’ll be glad you did.