Sort your super early

“You’re only young once” – no doubt you’ve heard that one before. But when it comes to your super, being young means you’ve got time on your side. Lots of time to save for your far away retirement. And even better – lots of time to benefit from compound interest on your savings.

One of the best things you can do to secure your financial future is get your superannuation sorted early. Think of it as an investment in future you.

THE BASICS

Every time you get paid, your pay slip should outline the number of hours you worked, how much you were paid, how much you were taxed and to which fund any super was paid.

HOW MUCH?

Your employer must pay 10% of your ordinary earnings into your super fund if:

• you’re over 18 and earned more than $450 in a month, or
• you’re under 18 and worked more than 30 hours a week (but you still earned more than $450 in a month).

If you’re self-employed it’s up to you to put money into your super account.

YOU CAN ADD MORE

If you earn under $56,112 in 2021-2022 you could choose to top up your super after tax to make the most of the government’s co-contribution.

If you earn over that, you could salary sacrifice to reduce your taxable income.

YOU’VE GOT TIME TO MAKE MORE

When you’re young, you have the most to gain from paying extra into super because of the magic of compounding interest. By saving even small amounts regularly and starting from an early age, you can make sure your money in super has a lot of time to work hard for you.

KEEP YOUR SUPER IN ONE PLACE

If you’ve had more than one job, you may have more than one super account. You might even have lost track of some accounts along the way. Multiple super accounts mean multiple fees which can eat away at your super savings over time. If you have a few accounts, you can combine them into one quickly and easily through your HESTA online account. 

YOU’VE GOT THE POWER

What you choose to invest in has power. At HESTA, we consider both people and the planet when it comes to investing your money. Our Sustainable Growth investment option is not only Australia’s top performing balanced investment option across 1, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 15 year-timeframe, it’s also socially responsible. Sustainable Growth invests in companies that are selected and managed according to specific environmental, social and governance standards and excludes a range of nasties such as fossil fuels, tobacco and uranium. 

SO WHY NOT SET UP FUTURE YOU FOR SUCCESS NOW?

A little extra now can go a long way tomorrow. See how you can boost your super by making extra contributions to your account.

Issued by H.E.S.T. Australia Ltd ABN 66 006 818 695 AFSL 235249, the Trustee of Health Employees Superannuation Trust Australia (HESTA) ABN 64 971 749 321. This information is of a general nature. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or specific needs so you should look at your own financial position and requirements before making a decision. You may wish to consult an adviser when doing this. The target market determination for HESTA products can be found at hesta.com.au/tmd Before making a decision about HESTA products you should read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (call 1800 813 327 or visit hesta.com.au for a copy), and consider any relevant risk (visit the HESTA website for more information).