“This increase in your superannuation payments will entail a difference in your take home pay of about $4 to $8 per week for most of you,” the email stated. Telstra’s enterprise agreement includes all non-senior management employees in Australia, and the 10% superannuation has been incorporated since 2015, he noted.

“In accordance with the new legislation, our top managers and executives who are not covered by the EA will have their 9.5 percent super contribution increase to 10% on July 1,” he added.

According to an AGL spokesperson, the firm constantly analyses market trends, economic conditions, and corporate performance to decide how the increased superannuation guarantee contribution would be utilised.

“AGL workers will be affected differently by the latest increase, depending on their compensation provisions and kind of superannuation fund.” The great majority of Australian businesses have been cautioned that forcing workers to fund superannuation increases out of their own pockets by cutting their wages is unlawful. ANZ bank was another company that sent letters to staff informing them that their take home pay could be “reduced slightly”.

“An employee earning $100,000 per year will experience a $10 per week cut in their after-tax pay. This money will be sent to their selected superannuation at a 15% tax rate, resulting in a $13.60 after-tax increase.”

He also said that the ANZ has a 30 September year end, which differentiates the timing of the superannuation guarantee rise from their own salary review cycle.

“Any external factors, such as changes to the superannuation guarantee,” he said, will be included into the annual performance and remuneration process later in the year.

“A commitment to ensuring that our pay structure is fair and equitable for our worldwide workforce, which is dispersed across more than 30 countries, is also a key element of our remuneration strategy.”

General Advice WarningAny advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

In September, Australia officially declared a recession, halting the country’s record streak of 28 years of economic expansion. Both the Australian share market and Wall Street in the United States – where our local bourse gets much of its direction from investors watching how it moves while we snooze – have shown to be incredibly durable.

What factors have contributed to it reaching an all-time high? Last year, the “Growth” tech sector was thriving, with Australian buy-now-pay-later firms like Afterpay – popular among younger generations who avoid traditional, high-interest credit cards – generating astounding profits for those who got in early.

Recent international stimulus packages aimed at bringing economies out of the doldrums have fueled demand for commodities, putting Australia’s backbone, the resources industry, back in the backseat.

Bank stocks are among the “Blue chip” stocks that form the backbone of many diversified super fund portfolios, so their strength is particularly excellent news for superannuation returns.

Given the recent excellent performance of the stock market, many Australians anticipate a better super balance at the conclusion of this financial year.

Of course, China is a huge wildcard for the Australian economy as a whole, having slapped harsh tariffs and restrictions on our imports in a nasty trade war that shows no signs of abating anytime soon.

General Advice Warning

Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

Accumulation funds

In an accumulation fund, your money grows or ‘accumulates’ over time. The value of your super depends on the money that you and your employers put in (known as super contributions), and on the investment return generated by the fund.

Defined benefit funds

In a defined benefit fund, your retirement benefit is determined by a formula instead of being based on investment return.

Most defined benefit funds are corporate or public sector funds. Many are now closed to new members.

Typically, your benefit is calculated using:

• the money put in by you and your employer
• your average salary over the last few years before you retire
• the number of years you worked for your employer

MySuper accounts

MySuper is a type of account you can have with a super fund. It’s the default account that your employer will pay your super into, unless you choose a different option.

MySuper accounts typically offer:

• lower fees
• simple features — so you don’t pay for services you don’t need
• either a ‘single diversified’ or a ‘lifecycle’ investment option

Even if you’ve already chosen a super investment option within your existing fund, you can choose to move to a MySuper option.

Super fund categories

Most super funds fall into one of the following categories: retail, industry, public sector or corporate.

Retail super funds

Retail funds are usually run by banks or investment companies. Anyone can join.

Main features:

• They often have a wide range of investment options.
• They may be recommended by financial advisers who may charge a fee for their advice.
• Most range from medium to high cost, but many offer a low-cost or MySuper alternative.
• The company that owns the fund aims to keep some profit.

Industry super funds

Anyone can join the bigger industry funds. Smaller funds may only be open to people working in a certain industry, for example, health.

Main features:

• Most industry funds are accumulation funds. A few older funds still have defined benefit members.
• They generally range from low to medium cost, and most offer MySuper accounts.
• They are not-for-profit funds, which means profits are put back into the fund.

Public sector super funds

Public sector funds are for government employees.

Main features:

• Some employers contribute more than the 9.5% minimum.
• They usually have a modest range of investment choices.
• Newer members are usually in an accumulation fund. Many long-term members have defined benefits.
• They generally have very low fees and some offer MySuper accounts.
• Profits are put back into the fund.

Corporate super funds

A corporate fund is arranged by an employer for their employees.

Some large companies operate a corporate fund under a board of trustees who they appoint. Other corporate funds are operated by a retail or industry fund, but are only available to that company’s employees.

Main features:

• Those managed by a bigger fund may offer a wider range of investment options.
• Some older corporate funds have defined benefit members, but most others are accumulation funds.
• They are generally low to medium cost funds for large employers, but may be high cost for small employers.
• Corporate funds run by the employer or an industry fund will usually return all profits to members. Those run by retail funds will keep some profits.

Self-managed super funds

A self-managed super fund (SMSF) is a private super fund that you manage yourself. SMSFs are different to industry and retail super funds. When you manage your own super, you put the money you would normally put in a retail or industry super fund into your own SMSF. You choose the investments and the insurance.

Your SMSF can have up to four members, who are friends or family. Most SMSFs have two or more. As a member, you are a trustee of the fund — or you can get a corporate trustee. In either case, you are responsible for the fund. While having control over your own super can be appealing, it’s a lot of work and comes with risk.

Only set up your own super fund if you’re 100% committed and understand what’s involved.

General Advice Warning

Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

The Australian superannuation industry has continued to thrive despite persistent market volatility and historically low inflation and cash rates. The value of total superannuation assets increased from $2 trillion at the end of 2015 to $2.7 trillion at the end of 2018. These forecasts reflect legislative increases in the Superannuation Guarantee, which will rise from 9.5 percent to 12 percent by July 2025, with the following increase to 10 percent set to begin on July 1, 2021.”

A key caveat to the anticipated 275 percent increase in total superannuation assets to $10.2 trillion is that the current low interest rate environment, which has persisted for more than five years in Australia and globally, is expected to remain the ‘new normal.’

“Superfund returns have been solid despite the low interest rate environment. Despite short-term volatility, funds have regularly achieved strong returns over the long term, ensuring that average retirement balances have grown. Add in the fact that many members have contributed to superannuation for a major amount of their working lives.”

Despite members drawing down their accumulated superannuation funds over time, post-retirement assets are likely to expand.

However, because there are no upper limits on how rapidly members can withdraw their benefits in retirement, if pensioners are obliged to withdraw their retirement assets at a faster rate than planned in a low-return environment, the estimated asset will expand.

Retirees must ensure that they don’t draw down too rapidly and outlive their savings, while also ensuring that they don’t draw down too slowly and lose a major chunk of their superannuation when they die, implying that they lived more frugally than necessary.”

At an increasing pace, funds are providing limited guidance and robo-advice to their members. In the next years, superannuation funds and others will have to develop retirement solutions tailored to different groups of retirees at different phases of life.

General Advice Warning

Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.