You may have moved jobs a few times. Or states. Had a career change or three. Done contract work for a while. And don't forget that dodgy telemarketing job you had while you were at Uni.
You're not the only one
38% of Australians admit to having between two and five super accounts and over 6% said they didn't have the faintest idea how many they actually had.
If that sounds like you, chances are you've got a fair chunk of lost or forgotten super languishing in multiple funds, being slowly eaten away by fees. You know you should get your act together and consolidate it all. But who's got the time or energy to go chasing it up? max has!
Why get your super together?
- You'll probably save on fees, which means more money in your pocket when you retire.
- You can change jobs as often as you like and all your super stays in the same spot.
- Managing your super will be easier with one account.
Multiple superannuation funds are a costly affair
To work out how much multiple accounts can cost young Australians, we crunched the numbers for Ant, a 30 year old super polygamist who's accumulated four funds across his working life.
The result was alarming. If Ant consolidates his account into one low fee fund now, he could save around $540 each year in fees and multiple insurance premiums, which could add up to an additional $60K in retirement. (If you're a detail fiend, info on how we worked out the numbers are at the bottom of the page).
Find out how our free Super Sorter service can help you get it together.
The nitty gritty We've based our case study on a 30 year old who like many Australians has accumulated four super funds with $23,650 spread across them. These funds include an ERF (Eligible Rollover Fund), two Industry Super Funds and a Retail Super Fund. The case assumes investments are returning the same performance in each fund (8.5%), however balances in each fund vary. The fees and insurance premiums reflect those of actual funds but for confidentiality reasons are not named. Projections at retirement are based on Ant earning $45K p.a., no career breaks, assumes no additional contributions are made above the Super Guarantee rate, and retirement at age 65. Consolidating funds into a low fee fund saves approx. $540 p.a which could generate an additional $60k in retirement - based on a low 1% management fee, continued 8.5% return, a Death & TPD insurance cover of $100k and Income Protection Cover of $1k per month. Calculations do not take into consideration fees charged by Super funds to withdraw monies from fund and should be taken into consideration when deciding to consolidate accounts. Projections calculated using the ASIC FIDO calculator at www.fido.asic.gov.au.
Before moving your old super, you may wish to consider things like insurance entitlements.
