6 tips to avoid being short-changed on your superannuation
By Olivia Maragna
Around one-third of human life is spent working and while this might sound daunting for some, not being paid the correct amount of superannuation during your working life is certainly going to create a hole in your retirement nest egg.
If you need a reminder to take notice of your own nest egg, then there is no better motivation than to know that you may be among the one in every three employees who aren’t getting the correct amount of superannuation. In fact, around 2.4 million Australian workers eligible for super entitlements are missing out on some or all of their entitlements, a new report reveals.
Using ATO and ABS data, the report reveals that employers are not paying compulsory superannuation payments to the tune of $3.6 billion a year, equating to $1489 or almost four months of super for the average worker affected.
Workers aged under 30 were more likely to miss out – 37 per cent of 20-24 year-olds compared to 23 per cent of 50-54 year-olds and workers in the construction, hospitality and cleaning industries, and low-income workers were also more likely to miss out.
So, how often do you just toss your payslip aside because the money hits your bank account regularly, without really doing some checks on your superannuation entitlement?
Here are some tips on what to look out for and what you should do if you’re a victim.
Check super
Most people see their superannuation contributions on their pay slip and assume this means that it’s getting paid. This may not be the case. Always ensure that the superannuation contributions actually hit your superannuation account and reconcile this to your payslips at least annually.
Most employers don’t need to actually pay your superannuation until the month following the end of a quarter. For example if you worked from October to December, your employer may have up until the January 28 to pay your superannuation contributions.
The real cost of ignoring it
Those who actually have superannuation owing by their employer, generally won’t bring it up while they are still employed in fear of adverse consequences. Instead they wait until they have moved on to their next job before following it up. Unfortunately this may mean that super remains unpaid for much longer and affects your long-term superannuation balance.
Talk to your super fund
It’s best to first check your last member statement from your super fund or contact them to confirm whether your employer has paid your super contributions for the period you are investigating or whether there has been an administrative error in allocating your benefits. This may be an error on your super fund’s behalf.
If you haven’t already, create a myGov account and link the Australian Taxation Office to check if you have received any recent contributions and what the balance is.
Understand your entitlements
It’s important that you ensure you are eligible to receive super. Usually an employer has to pay super contributions if you’re 18 years old or over and paid at least $450 before tax in salary or wages in a calendar month. If you’re under 18 years old, you must work more than 30 hours per week and are paid at least $450 in salary or wages before tax in a calendar month.
It doesn’t matter if you work casual, part-time or full-time hours. You may also be eligible for super if you are a contractor working and being paid primarily for labour. The Australian Taxation Office has a Super Tool to help work out if you are entitled and how much you should be paid. You can also use this tool to report any unpaid contributions.
Talk to your employer
While it may be hard to approach the subject, the next step is to talk to your employer. This can be dealt with by asking a few simple questions. You should ask them how often they are contributing to your super fund, into which fund they are paying it and how much they are paying.
Prevention is better than cure
If you are one of the 2.4 million Australians affected by this, ensure it doesn’t happen again. When starting your next job, ask your employer if you are eligible to choose your super fund, how often they pay and whether they offer any other benefits that you may wish to take advantage of such as salary sacrificing. It’s a good idea to ask these sorts of questions when you start work with an employer so you know what to expect.
This article also appears on the Sydney Morning Herald website
Categories
Tags
-
abc radio
aspire retire
aspire retire financial services
best financial planner brisbane
Brisbanes Best Financial Planner
Brisbanes Top Financial Planner
Brisbane Times
business
business owners
business tips
CEO's and Executives
executives
Finance columnist
financial planning
financial planning brisbane
financial planning melbourne
financial planning perth
financial planning sydney
money
olivia maragna
retirement
small business
superannuation
superannuation changes
tax
Archives
- March 2022
- December 2021
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- May 2020
- May 2019
- February 2019
- December 2018
- May 2018
- December 2017
- August 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- September 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- March 2016
- October 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- November 2014
- September 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013