It's easy to think that super is something you can leave for later, but taking small steps now could add up to a lot more over time. All it takes is adding just a little extra to your super – if you start early enough, even small amounts can make a real difference when you do it regularly.
It’s important to understand the differences between the types of contributions that can be made into super, so you’re aware of any tax implications or the effect of contribution caps.
"I witnessed my friend’s parents reaching retirement without enough super savings and saw first-hand the impact this had on their lives. It was also a similar scenario for my parents. It was a real wake up call for me to take action now to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself. Ever since then I’ve added extra to my super via salary sacrifice.
I’ve been doing this for seven years, and then four years ago I purchased a house so I had to lower the salary sacrifice amount to assist with the costs of the purchase. But I was committed to bringing this amount back up so I decided to increase my salary sacrifice each year in line with my base salary percentage increase and I’ve done this ever since."
See more stories from our members
If you have questions about the type or amount of contributions you wish to make, you may want to talk to the phone-based advice team. There is generally no additional cost to you to use this service for advice relating to super contributions in your Accumulate Plus account.
See how you can boost your super by making extra contributions (Source: ASIC MoneySmart)
Find out more about the different types of super contributions. (Source: ASIC MoneySmart)
