I've warned before about falling victim to the superannuation myths which could eat away at your balance and derail your retirement. But what about the secret tips to grow it?
Here are 10 lesser-known ways to boost your superannuation balance to get the most out of your retirement.
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1. Fiddle with your insurance
This isn't a suggestion to cancel your insurance, but make sure to double check your cover is necessary and the premiums are appropriate for you. Many super funds include insurance but there is no point paying for cover that is far too high.
2. Take advantage of catch-up concessional contributions
The current concessional contributions cap is $30,000 per financial year. If you contribute less than the before-tax cap in one financial year, the leftover amount gets carried into the next year. In fact, you can carry over your leftover pre-tax cap amounts from the past five years, which means you can make larger contributions above the $30,000 limit without the extra tax.
3. Use the downsizer contributions rule
Australians aged 55 or above can contribute up to $300,000 from the proceeds of the sale (or part sale) of their property into their complying superannuation fund. This is called a downsizer contribution, and it does not count towards contribution caps. It's an easy way to boost your balance if you're planning to sell up.
4. See if you're eligible for the bring-forward rule
This is similar to the catch-up concessional contribution, but the bring-forward rule applies to after-tax (i.e non-concessional) contributions. Under this rule, eligible Australians can contribute three years' worth of non-concessional contributions (up to $120,000 per year) at once.
5. Find out about the government co-contribution scheme
Low- and middle-income Australians might be eligible for a government co-contribution if they make after-tax contributions to super. This means you'd be, effectively, boosting your balance with extra government funds.
6. Claim a tax deduction on personal contributions
Many Australians aren't aware that they can make extra contributions to their superannuation fund and then claim it as a tax deduction. This is a double win. It boosts your superannuation balance and reduces your taxable income at the same time.
7. Ask your spouse to add extra
Couples can boost their combined super savings by the higher-income earner contributing after-tax funds to the lower-income earner's account. If your spouse earns less than $40,000 per year, it might even earn you a tax offset.
8. Consolidate your funds
Ok, so this one is actually something the experts will tell you to do. In fact, they say it time and time again. By having multiple superfund accounts across several providers, not only will you struggle to keep hold of how much you actually have, but you're also paying duplicate fees and insurance premiums. Consolidating accounts into one fund can help reduce costs and increase your final balance.
9. Check for lost super
As I mentioned above, if you have multiple accounts across multiple funds, it's easy to lose track of your total superannuation balance. In fact, it's easy to lose one of your accounts altogether. Check that all your superannuation is accounted for. Recovering lost funds will instantly boost your balance.
10. Review your risk appetite
Most superfunds default to a 'balanced' option, but it doesn't need to stay that way. You can change your risk level to something that might work better for you. After all, if a fund even slightly underperforms a benchmark, such as the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), over a long period of time, it can seriously dent your end balance.
