Retirement question a quarter of Aussies can’t answer

What’s your superannuation fund?

That’s the question one in four Australians cannot answer at the top of their heads, as concern grows over workers’ lack of engagement with their retirement plans.

Some 26 per cent of Australians cannot name their super fund, with the figure growing to 28 per cent for young people aged 18 to 34, according to a survey from the peak body for super organisations.

For those who do know, about a third seldom check their super balances or only do so once a year.

That leaves people at risk of retiring with less money that they could have, the Super Members Council warns.

“If you’re not checking your super regularly or if you’re not engaged with it, it may be that you miss out on thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars by retirement,” council chief executive Misha Schubert said.

Workers could be losing out on valuable compounding investment returns if they do not check that they have been paid super by employers, an issue affecting 3.3 million people and costing about $6 billion a year.

People who have not consolidated their super accounts could be paying multiple sets of fees.

Modelling from the council shows paying 0.1 per cent more in fees could make someone $14,000 worse off at retirement, while paying one per cent more could make someone miss out on $128,000.

Ms Schubert said complacency might come from the fact that retirement was hard to imagine for those at the start of their working lives.

“For many young people, retirement feels like it’s such a long way off, and so it can be easy for them to get busy in their lives and to not think a lot about their super,” she said.

Young people are six times more likely to take action to improve their retirement savings when they better understood their super.

“The more engaged you are with your super, the more likely you are to take key decisions at life stages that will help strengthen your financial security in retirement,” Ms Schubert said.

Workers should make sure they are being paid all their super, consolidate their accounts into one, ensure they are with a top-performing fund and consider making extra contributions.

IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO This article is of a general nature and FYI only, because it doesn’t take into account your financial or legal situation, objectives or needs. That means it’s not financial product or legal advice and shouldn’t be relied upon as if it is. Before making a financial or legal decision, you should work out if the info is appropriate for your situation and get independent, licensed financial services or legal advice.