Superannuation (1 Viewer)

[my sharona]

I'm having trouble getting the idea of superannuation around my head.

I'm currently in University under HECS, with a casual job and hoping to go overseas to live for the next few years.
I understand that superannuation is money that is put aside which you can access when you are XX years old.

Is my employer contributing to my superannuation?
Should I be contributing to my superannuation, or should i be finding some other profitable outlet for me to be throwing my money in?

To make things more confusing, somebody told me that at any time, i can access superannuation to buy shares... is this true?

I guess the biggest conflict i'm faced with is: should I be spending money as it comes due to inflation killing off my saved money's value? should i be putting money into my superannuation so that i won't retire in a nursing home? or should i be saving up for house/car/children's education etc etc etc?

 

[gordo]

super annuantion is a pretty simple concept to understand, but to understand its rules and regulations is immensely complex, my mum is studying it atm as part of her law masters.

the idea is to set aside money during your employment lifetime so u hav money to lvie once u retire...employeers are forced to pay u an extra 7% (i think 7) which goes into your super fund. you can contribute money to your own superfund to get a tax deduction if u need it, but remember u have to pay tax (30%) on the money u take out of super.
most superfunds invest your money so it doesn;t die from inflation, but u can use the money to put into shares, or property, or whack it all in a long term investment account.

if you have a serious issue try seeing a financial planner, although most of these don;t understand the full extent of super annuation laws anyway. most likely due to the fact that the legislation for it is over 300 pages long.

 

[llamalope]

yeah what gordo said. Although i think that the employer only contributes if you earn over a certain amount each month.

 

[llamalope]

Also the government can contribute up to $1.50 into your super for every dollar you put in, if you earn under a certain amount per year

 

[gordo]

its for a max of $1500 a yr

 

[steph@nie]

I only get money put into my super if I earn $X in a month. When I do earn that amount, I get something like $45 into my super fund. Other than that, I never put any money into super.