Time for a super check-up
The new financial year has begun, and with it have come some important changes to superannuation from 1 July 2024.
With these changes coming into effect, it's a good time to give your super a check-up. Your super could be one of the biggest assets you ever have - getting into the habit of checking in regularly with your super can help you stay on top of it and make better choices for your future. On 1 July 2024, the superannuation guarantee rate increased from 11% to 11.5%. Employer super contributions are calculated on a worker’s ordinary time earnings, for payments of salary and wages.
For employers, the maximum super contribution base increased from $62,270 to $65,070 (the limit on what you can earn each quarter before your employer can stop making super guarantee contributions).
The concessional super contributions cap also increased from $27,500 to $30,000 and the non-concessional contributions cap increased from $110,000 to $120,000. The ATO suggests the following steps as a good place to start in giving your super a check-up:
Step 1 - Check your contact details: Make sure your contact details and TFN are up to date with the ATO and your super fund.
Step 2 - Check your super balance and employer contributions: Checking your super balance and keeping track of your employer contributions can be done at any time through ATO online services or your super fund. Your employer should be paying your super at least every 3 months (though they may choose to pay more frequently).
Step 3 - Check for lost and unclaimed super: If you've changed your name, address or your job, you may have lost track of some of your super. Lost super is where your super fund hasn’t been able to contact you, or your account is inactive. Unclaimed super is where your fund has transferred lost super to the ATO. You can check this by logging into ATO online services through myGov (although new super accounts may take some time to appear on myGov).
Step 4 - Check if you have multiple super accounts and consider consolidating: If you've ever moved jobs, you might have more than one super account. Each account will charge fees and may include insurance, so combining your super accounts may reduce fees, help you pay only for the insurance you need and make your super easier to manage.
Step 5 - Check your nominated beneficiary: Make sure you have a valid death beneficiary nomination with your super fund, as this isn't covered by your will. Check with your fund if there is an expiry on the nomination - some funds have options where the nominations do not expire, while most nominations expire every 3 years. If you don't have a beneficiary nominated, your fund won't know who you wanted to your benefits to go to and will follow the law in determining where your super should go.
You should also take a careful look at how your fund is performing and check that you aren't paying too much in fees. You might also think about evaluating how your super is being invested - does it match your stage in life, how much risk you are willing to bear, or even your ethics and values?
If you have insurance cover with your super fund, regularly check that it still meets your needs.