Older individuals often forget to perform checks on their retirement savings.
It is essential that individuals check that their retirement savings are on track to finance their planned standard of living in retirement. Otherwise, they could be left short when they are ready to retire.
A common time to perform these checks is in the final decade before the date of intended retirement; however, it is a good idea to perform them throughout a person’s working life.
Performing these checks can also allow an individual to focus on maximising their super in the countdown to their retirement.
Policymakers are also interested in retirement savings checks as it allows them to gain an understanding of whether Australia’s retirement savings will be adequate, or if there will be strong demand for the age pension.
After COVID 19’s impact on the world, an influx of employees who had lost their jobs fell into the job market. Many of these came from companies that couldn’t afford to continue their employment. As a result, many individuals had to seek alternative employment, or draw from their super. Some individuals took on multiple jobs to pay bills, and others drew from the super that they had accumulated in the government’s early release scheme specifically for coronavirus related income loss.
Super is held by superannuation funds, and accumulates as a result of how much super an employer pays to the employees’ funds. Many Australians may find that they actually possess multiple super accounts as a result of having “lost” their super accounts during changeovers. It can also happen as a result of changing names, moving addresses, living overseas or changing jobs.
Australians can use the ATO’s online tools to:
View details of all of their super accounts, including lost or unclaimed amounts
Consolidate eligible multiple accounts (including any super held by the ATO)
Withdraw your super held by the ATO when certain conditions are met.
As superannuation funds often have fees associated with their upkeep, as well as insurances that may be tied into it (such as life, total and permanent disability and income protection), it’s important to consult with providers before accounts are consolidated.
