Summary
Superannuation is, and will continue to be, a hot topic in the financial advice industry. No matter what your age, once you begin your working life superannuation should be in the back of your mind, but MoneyTalk magazine have uncovered some confronting statistics that it’s worth thinking about if you’re around the age of 30..
Content
Superannuation is, and will continue to be, a hot topic in the financial advice industry. No matter what your age, once you begin your working life superannuation should be in the back of your mind, but MoneyTalk magazine have uncovered some confronting statistics that it’s worth thinking about if you’re around the age of 30.
If you’re 30 years old today, you have 35 years left in the workforce and need to save enough superannuation to fund you for 35 years of retirement. Now, many of you may be thinking – ‘Hold on a minute, I don’t need to save for that many years!’ well, with the ever increasing medical improvements you just might. The median age of death is increasing by 0.6 years every year, and currently sits at age 84. If this rate continues, by the time today’s 65 year old’s reach their mid 80’s, life expectancy could have been bumped up to around 94 years old!
If you’re in your 30’s or 40’s today, it’s not unlikely that you could need to fund your retirement until the age of 100 – an intimidating prospect for many. If you’re going to live to 100, and only work until you’re 65 it is estimated that you’ll need a nest egg of $3,000,000 – but how are you going to achieve this?
1. Review your superannuation fund now
When reviewing your superannuation fund, take a detailed look at the investment returns and any fees to be paid. Take special notice of tax being deducted from your account before payment needs to be made, this can equate to thousands of dollars’ worth of lost investment returns over the years.
2. Consider making extra contributions
The younger you start contributing extra funds to your superannuation account, the better off you will be. However, there are strict limitations of how much money you can contribute to your fund, and in what capacity you can contribute- familiarise yourself with these rules so as to avoid any mistakes.
3. Build up non-superannuation investments
Think about bettering your financial situation as a whole, rather than focusing solely on your superannuation. Think of how best to build your investments outside of your superannuation, with a view to eventually transferring them into your super in the most tax efficient way. You Financial Adviser can help you to plan this out.
4. Consider gearing
Borrowing to invest money is not suitable for everyone, be sure to speak to you Financial Adviser if you are considering this as an option to boost your superannuation. If done correctly, gearing can be used both inside and outside superannuation.
No matter what your current age, you must consider and plan for your financial future – invest your time as well as your money into superannuation planning.
Source: Money Matters Magazine, December 2016.