How to boost your superannuation
How to boost your superannuation
Looking to get a superannuation boost?
Most Aussies would have noticed that their super took a significant hit thanks to the COVID-19 outbreak.
And as Australian’s face the first recession in 29 years, some have been forced to access their super early just to get by.
In order to help you bounce back from these hard times, we’ve compiled some of the best industry insights on how to boost your superannuation.
1. Find Lost Super
In Australia, there are billions of dollars worth of super that has been lost or forgotten.
According to the ABC (2019), So far the ATO has reunited over $1.4 billion to over 800,000 people.
However, there is still $20.8 billion yet to be claimed.
If you’ve changed your address, your name, your job, or you worked overseas, you might have lost or forgotten about the super you are entitled to.
Luckily, it is easy to find out whether you’ve got some lost super floating around.
You can link your myGov to the ATO and see the details of all of the super accounts you have held., phone the lost super search line on 13 28 65 or complete a paper form via the ATO.
2. Consolidate your super funds
One of the most important ways to boost your superannuation is by consolidating your super into one single account.
Consolidating your super funds is often a simple process that requires choosing the super fund you want to stick with and managing your super accounts through your myGov account.
In doing so, you will save money by paying only one set of fees and have less paperwork to worry about. This, in turn, makes it a lot easier to manage your super.
3. Salary Sacrificing
If you’ve been looking into how to boost your retirement savings, chances are you’ve heard of salary sacrificing.
Salary sacrificing involves requesting that your employer pays a portion of your before-tax salary or yearly bonus into your super.
This is often a great way to:
- Increase your retirement savings
- Move you into a lower tax bracket
- Pay tax at the concessional rate of 15% on the sacrificed amount
4. Additional Personal Contributions
You can also experience a superannuation boost with additional personal contributions.
You can do so both before-tax and after-tax.
Before-tax personal contributions involve making your own contributions to your super and then claiming the amount you invested as a tax deduction.
People opt to make before-tax personal contributions to ultimately pay less tax and have more of their money sitting in their super.
After-tax contributions might be appealing to those that have gained an inheritance or sold an asset or even those that wish to make regular, small contributions with their take-home pay.
To ensure you are maintaining the maximum amount of your money and that you fall within the requirements, it is always best to speak to a professional in superannuation.
5. Spousal Contributions
If you and your spouse are concerned about your cash flows and are wondering how to save for retirement, spousal contributions are another way to boost superannuation.
If you or your spouse’s incomes are less than the current threshold and you make a contribution to that spouse’s super account, you could receive a tax offset amount.
However, there is strict eligibility for spousal contributions and it is recommended that you speak to a qualified accountant to better understand the best ways to boost your super.
If you liked this article, you might also like to read about Estate Planning.
