Why you should take a long-term view on super
Six out of 10 Australians now check their super at least monthly but it pays to maintain a long term approach to our retirement savings.
Maybe the cost of living crisis has made us more aware of the need to grow savings for retirement.
Or perhaps we're stressing about shaky sharemarkets, and the potential impact on our super.
Whatever the case, Australians are checking their super more frequently.
In fact, we can barely keep our eyes off our super.
A survey conducted as part of Money's annual Love Your Super education campaign found two in five (40.7%) Australians check their super balance monthly, up from 7.5% in 2023.
One in five (20.5%) review their super each payday, compared to just 3.2% in 2023.
It's great news because our super - likely to be our second largest asset behind the family home - has been overlooked for too long.
Fees outrank returns
In an interesting twist, Money's survey revealed that super fund fees are fast becoming a focal point for Australians.
Competitive fees are now regarded as the most important aspect of a super fund for eight out of 10 (79.3%) of us, even outranking investment returns on super (79%).
It makes a lot of sense to have a laser-like focus on fees.
Super funds charge fees regardless of how investments are performing, and right now, we're seeing plenty of volatility on sharemarkets globally thanks to the introduction of trade tariffs by the US.
We're only halfway through March, and already Aussie shares have dropped 3.45% for the month.
On the plus side, most Australians have their super in a balanced investment option, which spreads members' retirement savings across a number of investments, not just shares. So your super shouldn't bear the full brunt of sharemarket falls.
We're waiting until later to add to super
Super may be a long term investment but it's never too early to start chipping in some contributions of your own.
Even small extra contributions can grow into something far bigger over time thanks to compounding returns. And relying solely on the boss's contributions may not be enough to fund your ideal retirement especially as life expectancies are rising.
Yet Money's research shows close to half (44%) of all Australians wait until they are aged 40-plus to make voluntary contributions.
That's understandable.
Our 20s and 30s can see household budgets stretched, paying a mortgage, raising a family and investing in our kids' education.
The thing is, we can't rely on adult children to fund our golden years. When people say, "Enjoy them while they're young", they're talking about your knees and hips.
A more reliable strategy can be to add a little extra to super through our working years, and the earlier we start the better.
Talk to the boss about making salary sacrifice super contributions from your pre-tax pay, or consider making a tax deductible contribution from your own money.
The bottom line
Yes, sharemarkets are having a rough run at present, and this will likely impact your super balance in the short term.
But history shows markets recover and so should your super.
Taking steps to check your fees, and add to your balance when you can afford to, will go a long way to funding a rewarding retirement once you've hung up your work boots.
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