There are many people who will change their jobs at least once and if not more during their adult working lives and this could be due to a number of reasons such as promotion, higher pay, career change, redundancy or moving into self-employment.
No matter what your reasons for changing jobs, there are a number of things that you need to consider when you move companies. This includes thinking about your superannuation fund and the money that is accumulated within it. A number of us tend to forget when it comes to their superannuation fund and others simply assume that they will get around to looking at it another time. However, when you change jobs you need to understand what options you have available and what happens to your benefits upon completion of employment.
When moving to a new job you have a couple of options with regards to your superannuation benefits. If you choose to, you can leave this in the existing investment or you can choose to roll the funds over to another superannuation fund. If you decide to leave your benefits in the existing fund and if you change jobs quite regularly, you could end up with a variety of different funds which means multiple fees, multiple amounts of paperwork, several investment options and reduced benefits.
Things to consider when changing roles and how it will affect your superannuation benefits include:
Insurances: Which insurances continue in your superannuation fund once you are no longer with the Employer. In most circumstances you will lose your Income Protection and your insurance cover will reduce over time.
Fees: Corporate super funds sometimes have group discounts for having a large number of members in the same company- This can be lost once you have left the plan and go onto the automatic retail offering.
Rebates: Some corporate super funds have rebates associated which will end once an individual is taken out of the plan.
No TFN: Before rolling over benefits from your superannuation account it is best to ensure your Tax file number is attached to the account as benefits could be charged at the highest marginal tax rate if not recorded.
Compare: Don’t just pick the super fund attached to your new employer- Do your research and compare fees, insurances, investment options and choose the right one for you.
Make sure you know exactly what’s happening to your super when you lose or change jobs. Don’t assume your super is being treated the same way simply because it’s still in the same super fund (with the same name) because there are different divisions within super funds and it can get tricky if you’re not up to date with changes.
If you require assistance with anything mentioned then why not ask to see how I can help.
The information is general in nature and does not take into account your personal objectives, needs and financial circumstances. You should consider the appropriateness of the information, having regard to your personal objectives, needs and financial circumstances. This information is not to be construed as personal advice, and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional advice.