People often don’t start thinking about retirement but with a little planning, you can make a big difference to your retirement outcome.

At Harris Planning we can help you with:

• Super consolidation and choosing a fund.
• Checking your insurance before you change funds.
• Create a plan to grow your super by contributing or salary sacrificing.
• Advice on tax-effective strategies in super.
• Knowing what is involved before deciding whether to choose an SMSF

Superannuation and why is it so important?

Superannuation (super) is a long-term way of saving for retirement. Your employer must pay a percentage of your earning into your super account, and your super fund invests the money until you retire.

These payments are known as super guarantee contributions or concessional (pre-tax) contributions. Just like the money in your bank account, superannuation is your hard-earned money.

Including it as part of your financial plans can be important for a number of reasons:

• The Age Pension my not be enough for a comfortable retirement.
• You may not be eligible for the Age Pension.
• You may spend over twenty years in retirement and your money will not last.
• Your super enjoys the benefits of compound interest and a long investment timeframe, it could be your largest asset by the time you retire.
• The government is offering attractive tax incentives.

How tax-effective is super?

For most people, saving through super can be much more tax effective than saving the same amount outside super.

Firstly, any contributions your employer makes are taxed at a maximum 15% for anyone earning up to $250k per year, and 30% for anyone earning more than 250k per year.

Secondly, any returns on your super are taxed at a maximum of 15% rather than your marginal tax rate which could be as high as 45%.

There are a number of ways you can grow your super to make a positive difference to your lifestyle in retirement.